April 1 is, of course, celebrated as All Fools Day or April Fool’s Day. While the current happenings around the world have created a gloomy situation, and most people are already aware of the prank-playing, celebrating April Fools’ can continue to be a tradition, with the sole purpose of spreading smiles.
April Fool’s Day date
As already highlighted April Fool’s Day is celebrated on April 1, by different cultures for many centuries. However, the exact origin still remains a mystery.
April Fools Day history
While there are multiple spins to the origin of this bizarre observance, one particularly interesting origin story is from when France started using the Gregorian Calendar instead of the Julian. This meant the shift of New Years to January 1 instead of April 1. The extravagant celebrations in the last week of March, therefore, remained pointless. However, it is said that some people who were late to realize this and still celebrated through the last week of March.
According to legend, these people became victims of jokes and hoaxes. Some historians also relate April Fools’ Day to festivals in Ancient Rome such as Hilaria which was celebrated in the last week of March, with people dressing in disguises.
April Fools Day significance
It spread in Britain in the 18th Century and became a 2-day event in Scotland with 1st day being Hungtigowk Day followed by Tallie Day.
April Fool’s Day is now widely celebrated across the world and is dedicated to love and laughter. While people often take this pretence to play practical jokes and fool people with fake news, false updates and more, this year, most people, including comedians and celebrities are encouraging the celebration of April Fool’s Day by sharing normal jokes and memes instead. With so much misinformation and fake news already being tackled by the world, what we really need is just a not-mean reason to smile.
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