March 29, 2024
April Fools’ Day Facts
Perhaps the biggest April Fools’ Day joke of all is that most countries celebrate the holiday, but nobody knows the actual origins of what started the traditional day of tricks. All we know for sure is that now the date of April 1st is a day to celebrate spring and sunshine after the bleakness of winter with harmless pranks.- A widespread belief is that April Fools’ Day began in 16th-century France when they switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. This switch changed the first day of the new year to January 1st instead of the previous April 1st. Any person that was still celebrating the new year as April 1st was called a fool.
- Historians also speculate that April Fools’ Day origins are connected to the vernal equinox, when the sun is directly above the equator, making day and night the exact same length. This is considered the beginning of spring, which is when Mother Nature’s unpredictable weather makes fools of us all.
- France celebrates Poisson d’Avril, which translates to “April fish.” The most common prank includes sticking a picture of a fish to someone’s back. If you happen to find a fish on your back, someone thinks you were easily caught or gullible.
- Scotland celebrates April 1st as Huntigowk Day where people are sent on fake errands as pranks. The prankster tasks an unsuspecting person with a deceptive mission—think sending someone for “blinker fluid”—and if they do the task, they are the gowk.
- Although many countries post fake news stories to celebrate, Sweden newspapers and news outlets will traditionally post one fake story mixed with the actual news. The citizens will have to figure out which is fake and what is the real news.
- Canada, Australia, and England celebrate the day with traditional pranks with a slight twist to the rules. The prank needs to be completed by noon. If you prank someone after noon, then you are considered a fool. In England, if you successfully prank someone before noon, you are called a noodle.
- Greek tradition says that if you fool someone on April Fools’ Day, their misfortune becomes your good luck. Also, if Mother Nature provides a rain shower on April 1st, collect as much water as you can because it has healing powers.
- Saudi Arabia also celebrates April Fools’ Day with pranks, but make sure you do not post them on social media. Under the anti-cyber crime law, any prank posted with or without consent is a crime that is punishable with hefty fines and/or imprisonment.
- Many countries around the world observe some form of April Fools’ Day, but no country has made the tradition of April 1st pranks an officially recognized holiday
—Tiffany Jablonowski
Sources:
Al-Kinani, Mohammed. “Illegal Pranksters Face Severe Penalties in Saudi Arabia.” Arab News, 10 Sept. 2022. www.arabnews.com/node/2160051/saudi-arabia. Accessed 12 Mar. 2024.
Bruno, Audrey. “For Your Pranking Inspiration: April Fools’ Day Traditions from 9 Countries.” AFAR, 29 Mar. 2018, www.afar.com/magazine/for-your-pranking-inspiration-april-fools-day-traditions-from-9-countries. Accessed 12 Mar. 2024.
Onion, Amanda, et al. “April Fools’ Day.” HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 30 Mar. 2017, www.history.com/topics/holidays/april-fools-day. Accessed 12 Mar. 2024.
“26 Fun Facts about April Fool Pranks and Laughter.” Amazing Facts Home, 24 Nov. 2023, www.amazingfactshome.com/fun-facts-about-april-fool/. Accessed 12 Mar. 2024.
Cascarones are an alternative to the popular dyed hard-boiled eggs. Originating in China, cascarones are believed to have been brought by Marco Polo to Spain and then to the Americas. In the lower United States and Mexico, the insides of the eggs are removed from the shell by making and then blowing through a small hole in the bottom. Once cleaned, the eggshell is painted, filled with confetti, and sealed with tissue paper. On Easter day, it is tradition to smash the cascarones over people’s heads to give them luck, and it is also considered a sign of affection.
American’s each Easter buy more than 700 million Peeps. In 1953, this would have been impossible to keep up with demand because it took 27 hours to make one Peep, but now they have the process down to just six minutes a Peep.
St. Patrick was not born in Ireland and Patrick was not his given name. His birth name was Maewyn Succat, and his home country was Britannia (Roman Britain).
March Madness is coming around the corner. We should check and see how these college teams are doing.
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