April Fools Day celebrated on the 1st of every April, has been celebrated for many centuries by people of different cultures and religions; however, its origin still remains a mystery. April Fool’s Day traditional includes pranks and practical jokes often followed by the prankster yelling “April Fools” at the end.
Historians speculate that April Fools Day dates back to 1582 with the switching of the French calendar from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1563. In the Julian calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1. With the shift to the Gregorian calendar, the new year shifted to January 1st; however, the ones who continued to celebrate New Year on April 1st became the victims of the jokes and were called “April Fools.” Pranks included having paper fish stuck to their backs to refer to them as “poisson d’avril” (April fish) which symbolized a young, easily caught fish much like a gullible person.