April Fool’s Day practices include a long-standing custom of pranking people and playing tricking on others with harmless jokes.
The start of the holiday created several traditions which differ by culture.
Kurt Queller, a senior instructor with the University of Idaho English Department, lived in Italy and France. He recalls a custom where children cut out paper fishes and stuck them on adults’ backs.
“Sometimes they run away, shouting poisson d’avril! Pesce d’aprile!,” Queller said. “But sometimes, it remains a stealth thing, so the person continues through their day with a fish on their back.”
While the unofficial holiday continues heavily into modern culture, the beginnings of it remain unknown.
The origins of April 1 range from historians. A possible cause for the festivity, according to History.com, was the change of the Julian calendar in France in 1582.
The prior calendar switched to the current Gregorian form, however, the modification led to confusion because a typical year under the Julian calendar started April 1, not the current Jan. 1. People confused by the transition were mocked.
Another theory for the custom of pranks came from English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, the BBC states. According to Chaucer, who was alive during the 1300s, two animals played a prank on each other, referring to the practices on April Fool’s Day.
April Fool’s Day is an event where people can experience harmless fun and enjoy the laughs that follow a prank.
Sierra Pesnell can be reached at [email protected]