The origin of the Fool’s Day is still not known, but there are innumerable theories that suggest the “birth” of this prankster’s day! Let’s have a look on these theories in the pages of history to know why and when, this Fool’s Day started.
1700: On this day in 1700, English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools’ Day by playing practical jokes on each other.
1582: It was the year when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, and the people who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1, continued to celebrate it , became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. These included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as “Poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.
Historians have also assumed that April Fools’ Day is inter-linked to ancient festivals such as Hilaria, which was celebrated in Rome at the end of March and involved people dressing up in disguises. Also, April Fool’s day is tied to the vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Nature fools people with unpredictable weather.
18th Century: In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with “hunting the gowk,” in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people’s derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or “kick me” signs on them.
Modern Times: People have gone to great lengths to create elaborate April Fools’ Day hoaxes. Newspapers, radio and TV stations and Web sites have participated in the April 1 tradition of reporting outrageous fictional claims that have fooled their audiences.
In 1957, the BBC reported that Swiss farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti crop and showed footage of people harvesting noodles from trees; numerous viewers were fooled.
In 1985, Sports Illustrated tricked many of its readers when it ran a made-up article about a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch who could throw a fastball over 168 miles per hour.
In 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell.
In 1998, after Burger King advertised a “Left-Handed Whopper,” scores of clueless customers requested the fake sandwich.
Whatever the origin- Fools Day has always been everyone’s favorite day- so go out and have fun, make fool of others- but be careful so as not to hurt their feelings!
By: Archa Dave
