On April Fools’ Day, people use pranks and jokes to pull on their friends or others. But, where did this “holiday” originate? Andrea Alexander, a student at Rutgers University, published an article explaining the entire origin story of this day. The article explains that the story dates back to the 1500s in France when the Julian calendar was replaced with the Gregorian calendar. The new year began on April 1 in the old Julian calendar, but with the new Gregorian calendar, it started on January 1. News did not travel fast back then; therefore, not everyone knew the start of the New Year had changed. The people celebrating it on April 1st were mocked as “April Fools.”
But how did this turn into a day of jokes? The practice of telling April Fools jokes spread rapidly and has continued for the past five hundred years. These jokes work best on people who usually do not know the date, and it is best to get them early before they figure out what day it is. The article continues by stating that the most effective jokes have come from some kind of authoritative source, such as a respected news channel or a local government. Most importantly, the jokes must be false but believable, and harmless. An example of this happened in 1980, when the BBC announced a significant change. Big Ben’s clock face was being changed to digital, and the first person to get back to the network could win the clock hands.Â
https://www.rutgers.edu/news/how-did-april-fools-day-get-started