Did you know? The origins of April Fools’ Day

 

In the Western world April Fools’ Day is marked by the perpetration of hoaxes and other practical jokes on friends, family, colleagues, enemies, and neighbours.

The origin of April Fools’ Day is obscure.

In many pre-Christian cultures May Day (May 1) was celebrated as the first day of summer, and signalled the start of the spring planting season. An April Fool was someone who did this prematurely.

Another theory is that April 1 was counted the first day of the year in France. When King Charles IX changed that to January 1, some people stayed with April 1. Those who did were called “April Fools” and were teased by their neighbours.

Source: novinite.com

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