Do you know the origin of April Fool’s Day?

  April 1st is a traditional Western folk holiday, April Fool’s Day.

The festival’s origins vary, one theory suggests that the custom originated from the Indian “hermeneutic festival.” The festival stipulates that on March 31st, couples entertain each other by fooling and cheating on each other every year. 

A more common theory is that it originated in France, where in 1564, a newly reformed calendar: the Gregorian calendar (i.e., the standard solar calendar), was first adopted. Instead of having January 1st as the beginning of the year, changing the past calendar to April 1st as the beginning of the New Year. During the implementation of the new calendar, some old-fashioned people opposed to this reform still followed the old calendar and refused to update it.

Today, every April Fool’s Day, Americans will play little jokes whether they know each other or not. One of the more common tricks on April Fool’s Day is when the Trickster point to someone’s shoe and say, “Your shoelaces are untied.” A student might lie to a classmate and say that school is out. Or they may present a beautifully wrapped spring-loaded clown and expect you to look shocked! Whatever the trick, once the prankster tricked that innocent victim with the scheme, the prankster will scream, “Fool !”

Cold knowledge to share:

IIn Scotland, Scottish citizens celebrate April Fool’s Day over two days. They dedicate the second day to fooling around with the area behind the human body. This day, called Taily’s Day, is the origin of the “kick me” sign.

 

Two interesting April Fools’ Day lies in history

1.  On April 1st, 1991, the British newspaper The Independent reported that a 65-year-old Welsh farmer was the illegitimate son of Queen Elizabeth II’s grandfather, George V. In other words, he had the right to inherit the British throne. The report, titled “The Queen’s Throne is under Threat,” described the farmer’s origins compellingly. And said that the rightful heir to the throne had filed a lawsuit in the local court to regain his right to the throne. Only later it dawned on people that this was an April Fool’s joke.
2.   In 1991, the Independent reported that an art team discovered a surprising secret while cleaning the famous painting “Mona Lisa.” After removing the dust from the artwork, the woman with the “mysterious smile” was frowning.