The Origin of April Fool's Day

The true origin of April Fool's Day remains unknown, but various theories have gained popularity over the years.

One estimation placed the origin of April Fool's Day as far back as the 300s, during the rule of Constantine in Rome. It was believed that Constantine, playing along with his court jesters, agreed to make one of them "King for a Day". During the brief reign of the jester King, which happened to fall on April 1^st, he declared that the day would always be celebrated as a day of pranks and hoaxes and a day to celebrate the absurd. This theory, however popular, is actually a myth, cultivated as its own April Fool's Day prank by a professor at Boston University in the early 1980s.

Several other theories exist with origins in several different countries, but the most widely accepted origin theory is that April Fool's Day was born in 16^th-century France, when King Charles IX declared that the beginning of January would be the start of a new year, not the beginning of April. Those who failed to receive news of the switch, or those who simply rejected it and celebrated the New Year on April 1^st were labeled as "April Fools" and often the subject of pranks and practical jokes.

Whatever the origin of April Fool's Day, celebrations of practical jokes and pranks have been found throughout history. In 18^th century Scotland, a two day tradition at the beginning of spring involved sending people on phony errands for nonexistent items (e.g., pigeon's milk) and pinning fake tails and signs on people's backs without their knowledge. In the 20^th century, April Fool's Day was popular among businesses, corporations, and public figures as an opportunity to stir up a lot of attention by pulling practical jokes on consumers. Fast food giant Burger King used the holiday to introduce a left hand hamburger and Taco Bell used the day to announce that the company had purchased the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell".

Traditional and respected Media outlets often publish or broadcast outrageous and downright false information, all in good fun, on April Fool's Day. In 1957 the BBC reported that farmers in Switzerland had mastered spaghetti farming. Television viewers were delighted to see images of farmers picking noodles off of trees. Despite its hilarity, the prank was believed by quite a lot of people, and BBC phone lines were jammed with inquiries about the noodle sprouting plants. Again, in 1993, the China Youth Daily, an actual, state operated newspaper in China, published a front page story declaring that Ph.D. holders were exempt from the state enforced one child per household limit. The announcement was declared false by government officials and the newspaper quickly issued an apology. Despite the fact that disclaimers were printed beneath the phony announcement, editors acknowledged that several readers were still taken in by the faux-headline.

Sources:

MTV News. The Origin of April Fool's Day. April 1, 2010.

Herald-Journal. Chinese Didn't Laugh at April Fool's Joke. April 3, 1993.

Museum of Hoaxes. The Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time.

This Day in History. April 1, 1700: April Fool's Tradition Popularized.