April Fool’s Day history
JOBURG – Where does the concept of April Fool's Day originate?
April Fool’s Day or All Fool’s Day is celebrated on 1 April all across the globe.
The day sees an influx of practical jokes and hoaxes.
Historically in Ireland, the traditional hoax would be to get someone to deliver a named letter to a particular person. The recipient will read the letter and send the deliverer onwards over and over again. The letter usually read, Send the fool further.
The history is blurred as origins of the day can be found in multiple cultures from the French, Scottish and even the Romans. The closest one can tell is according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica with the Edict of Roussillon (promulgated in August 1564. Charles IX proclaimed that the New Year would begin on 1 January and not on Easter, as it was a malleable day. The people who celebrated the day in the latter were called ‘April fools’.
According to The Museum of Hoaxes, in France the day is called poisson d’avril (April fish). The fish in April are generally young which means they can be caught easily. This links to the easy nature one can be fooled into believing things. The children in France traditionally pin paper fish on to each others backs as a joke.
Another theory is the frequent change of season in April.
Regardless of the origins dating as far back as the 1500s to the 1800s, it is still prevalent at present.
What sinister or sneaky trick will you be playing on April Fool’s Day?
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