A Fool's Guide to the History of April Fool's Day
- trojantorch
- 23 hours ago
- 2 min read
Bailey Nolen
Editor
Each year, people around the world join together to play pranks and share laughs in celebration of April Fools’ Day. While the holiday is known by all, its beginnings and origin are just as mysterious as would be expected for a holiday all about jokes. Historians have come up with several theories to explain this strange holiday.
The first theory suggests that April Fools’ Day started over 600 years ago in Medieval England. The holiday was first mentioned by the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer in his Nun’s Priest’s Tale, in which a rooster and fox fool each other on April 1. However, some scholars believe that the date of this tale may be due to mistranslations, causing many to discredit this theory as the origin of April Fools’ Day.
The next theory comes from France, where they celebrate “Poisson d’Avril” or “April Fish” day. In France today, pranksters attempt to attach a paper fish to their victim’s back without their knowledge. Once the prankee notices, the prankster shouts “April Fish!” This term is first mentioned by the French poet and composer Eloy D’Amerval in 1508, leading some to believe that fish were symbolic of foolish people and others to believe the tradition already existed.
The third theory also comes from France. During a tour of his kingdom in 1564, Charles IX found that many cities used different calendars and feast days. To solve this, he issued the Edict of Roussillon, which declared the French new year would fall on January 1. Some scholars believe that there was widespread confusion about this new calendar. “Fools” believed that the calendar year started in April rather than January, leading to a tradition of lighthearted teasing and tomfoolery.
Though historians are still unsure as to which origin story of April Fools’ Day is correct, they are sure that the Spring season has long been a season of lightheartedness and celebration. The ambiguous nature of the origin of April Fools’ Day seems all too fitting for the fun-loving, mischievous holiday. This year, be sure to embody your inner jokester and celebrate April Fools’ Day to its fullest potential! Happy fooling!
Cover Picture: https://www.history.com/articles/april-fools-day
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