April Fools' Day: Difference between revisions

{{selfref|For the Wikipedia project page related to April Fools' Day, see [[WP:APRILFOOLS]].}}

{{other uses|April Fool (disambiguation)|April Fool's Day (disambiguation)}}

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'''April Fools' Day''' (sometimes called '''April Fool's Day''' or '''All Fools' Day''') is an old custom celebrated every year on the first day of April. Popular since the 19th century, the day is not a [[public holiday|national holiday]] in any country, but it is widely recognized throughout European cultures and celebrated as a day when people play [[practical joke]]s and [[hoax]]es on each other, both the jokes and their victims being known as "April fools". Hoax stories may be reported by the press and other media on this day and explained on subsequent days. A popular theory for the origin of the holiday holds that those who continued to celebrate [[New Year's Day]] on April 1st after the 1582 implementation of the [[Gregorian Christian calendar]] were mocked as "fools" or "fish". In several countries, the [[fish]] is a common symbol of the tradition.

== Origins ==

[[File:Washing of the Lions.jpg|thumb|An 1857 ticket to "Washing the Lions" at the [[Tower of London]] in London. No such event ever took place.]]

A variety of explanations have been given for the April Fools tradition, many associated with early Christian practice. The custom of setting aside a day for the playing of harmless pranks upon one's neighbor is almost universal, and yet nothing positive seems to be known of its origin.<ref name=BonnerCurtis1908>{{cite book|last1=Bonner|first1=John|last2=Curtis|first2=George William|last3=Alden|first3=Henry Mills|coauthors=Samuel Stillman Conant, John Foord, Montgomery Schuyler, John Kendrick Bangs, Richard Harding Davis, Carl Schurz, George Brinton McClellan Harvey, Henry Loomis Nelson, Norman Hapgood|title=Harper's Weekly|accessdate=3 April 2014|year=1908|publisher=Harper's Magazine Company|page=6}}</ref> Precursors of April Fools' Day include the Roman festival of [[Hilaria]], held March 25,<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web

| accessdate=April 4, 2013}}</ref> and the Medieval [[Feast of Fools]], held December 28,<ref name="Santino">{{cite book

| isbn=978-0-252-06516-3}}</ref> still a day on which pranks are played in Spanish-speaking countries.

One belief is that the reason All Fools' Day now falls in April is related to the 1582 implementation of the Gregorian calendar reform in France, which shifted the marking of the arrival of the new year from a week-long gift-giving celebration spanning March 25 to April 1 to a single-day observance on January 1. "When some people, whether out of stubbornness or lack of information, persisted in celebrating the new year at the end of March, others started to mock ... with gag gifts and other teasing gestures". In France an April fool is called a ''poisson d'avril'', an "April fish," perhaps because young fish that appear in streams around this time of the year are more easily caught than older, cagier fish. French shops sell chocolates shaped like fish for the occasion. People try to pin paper fish on each other's backs as a joke, and the perpetrator cries out triumphantly, "April fish!"<ref name="Coffey2012">{{cite book|last=Coffey|first=Kathy|title=Companion to the Calendar, Second Edition|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_9F_nB5wGl4C&pg=PA59|accessdate=3 April 2014|year=2012|publisher=Liturgy Training Publications|isbn=978-1-56854-260-7|page=59|}}</ref><ref name="Watts2006">{{cite book|last=Watts|first=Linda S.|title=Encyclopedia of American Folklore|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2dce6_CA76MC&pg=PA21|accessdate=3 April 2014|year=2006|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-2979-2|pages=21|}}</ref>

Other accounts go back to the time of [[Noah]] and the [[Noah's Ark|ark]], the London ''Public Advertiser'' of March 13, 1769, published the following paragraph concerning this theory: "The mistake of Noah sending the dove out of the ark before the water had abated, on the first day of April, and to perpetuate the memory of this deliverance it was thought proper, whoever forgot so remarkable a circumstance, to punish them by sending them upon some sleeveless errand similar to that ineffectual message upon which the bird was sent by the patriarch."<ref name=BonnerCurtis1908 />

Other accounts argue that April is the time of the year, around [[Easter]] when the [[Passion (Christianity)|passion]] of Jesus took place and [[Jesus]] was sent back and forth from one official to another&nbsp;— from [[Annas]] to [[Caiaphas]], from Caiaphas to [[Pilate]], and from Pilate to [[Herod Antipas|Herod]] to be mocked and tormented, and that from this arose our present custom, "by which we send one place to another such persons as we think proper objects of our ridicule".<ref name="Marek">{{cite book|title=Harvard Magazine|accessdate=3 April 2014|year=1864|publisher=Sever and Francis |page=253}}</ref> The French name for an April fool (''poisson d'Avril'') is offered as support for this on the supposition that "''poisson''" is a corruption of "passion."<ref name=BonnerCurtis1908 />

In [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]]'s [[The Canterbury Tales]] of (1392), the "[[Nun's Priest's Tale]]" is set ''Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two''.<ref>[[s:The Canterbury Tales/The Nun's Priest's Tale|The Canterbury Tales: The Nun's Priest's Tale]]</ref><ref>{{cite web

| date=September 21, 2007

| accessdate=April 4, 2013}}</ref> Many modern scholars believe that there is a copying error in the extant manuscripts and that Chaucer actually wrote, ''Syn March was gon''.<ref>{{cite book

| isbn=978-0-8101-1541-5}}</ref> Thus, the passage originally meant 32 days after April, i.e. 2 May,<ref name="Hoax">{{cite web

| accessdate=April 4, 2013}}</ref> the anniversary of the engagement of King [[Richard II of England]] to [[Anne of Bohemia]], which took place in 1381. Readers apparently misunderstood this line to mean "March 32", i.e. April 1.<ref>Compare with [[Valentine's Day]], a custom that originated with a similar misunderstanding of [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]].</ref> In Chaucer's tale, the vain [[Rooster|cock]] Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox.

In 1508, French poet [[Eloy d'Amerval]] referred to a ''poisson d’avril'' (April fool, literally "April fish"), a possible reference to the practise of pranking.<ref name="Amerval">{{cite book

| isbn=9782600026727}}</ref> In 1539, Flemish poet Eduard de Dene wrote of a nobleman who sent his servants on foolish errands on April 1.<ref name="Hoax" /> In 1686, [[John Aubrey]] referred to "Fooles holy day", the first British reference.<ref name="Hoax" /> On April 1, 1698, several people were tricked into going to the [[Tower of London]] to "see the Lions washed".<ref name="Hoax" />

In the Middle Ages, up until the late 18th century, New Year's Day was celebrated on March 25 ([[Feast of the Annunciation]]) in most European towns.<ref name=Groves>{{cite book|last=Groves|first=Martha|title=Manners and customs in the Middle Ages|date=2006|publisher=Crabtree Pub. Co.|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-7787-1357-1|page=27}}</ref> In some areas of France, New Year's was a week-long holiday ending on April 1.<ref name="Britannica" /><ref name="Santino" /> Many writers suggest that April Fools originated because those who celebrated on January 1 mocked of those who celebrated on other dates.<ref name="Britannica" /> The use of January 1 as New Year's Day was common in France by the mid-16th century,<ref name="Hoax" /> and this date was adopted officially in 1564 by the [[Edict of Roussillon]].

== Longstanding customs ==

[[File:Conti echo 26 aprilausgabe bus.jpg|thumb|right|An April Fools' Day prank of a purported new design for three level city bus, from an April 1926 issue of the company newspaper ''Echo Continental'', published by the Continental Rubber Works Hannover AG company]]

=== United Kingdom ===

| isbn=0-940322-69-2}}</ref> A person playing a joke after midday is the "April fool" themselves.<ref name="Independent">{{cite news

| url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-big-question-how-did-the-april-fools-day-tradition-begin-and-what-are-the-best-tricks-1658944.html| title=The Big Question: How did the April Fool's Day tradition begin, and what are the best tricks?| date=April 1, 2009

| accessdate=April 4, 2013}}</ref>

In Scotland, April Fools' Day is traditionally called Hunt-the-Gowk Day ("gowk" is [[Scots (language)|Scots]] for a cuckoo or a foolish person; ''Là na Gocaireachd'' 'gowking day' or ''Là Ruith na Cuthaige'' 'the day of running the cuckoo' in [[Scottish Gaelic|Gaelic]]), although this name has fallen into disuse. The traditional prank is to ask someone to deliver a sealed message requesting help of some sort. In fact, the message reads "Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile". The recipient, upon reading it, will explain he can only help if he first contacts another person, and sends the victim to this person with an identical message, with the same result.<ref name="Opie 1967 246–247" />

=== Ireland ===

In Ireland it was traditional to entrust the victim with an "important letter" to be given to a named person. That person would then ask the victim to take it to someone else, and so on. The letter when finally opened contained the words "send the fool further".<ref name=Haggerty>{{cite web|last=Haggerty|first=Bridget|title=April Fool's Day|url=http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACalend/AprilFools.html|work=Irish Culture and Customs|accessdate=3 April 2014}}</ref>

=== Iran ===

In [[Iran]], jokes are played on the 13th day of the [[Persian calendar|Persian]] new year ([[Nowruz]]), which falls on April 1 or April 2. This day, celebrated as far back as 536 BC,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://sizdahbedarpurim.blogspot.ca/2012_02_01_archive.html| title=Sizdah Bedar & Purim: The Riddle of Sizdah Bedar| date=February 28, 2012| accessdate=April 4, 2013}}</ref> is called [[Sizdah Bedar]] and is the oldest prank-tradition in the world still alive today.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.life123.com/holidays/more-holidays/april-holidays/the-history-of-april-fools-day.shtml| title=The History of April Fools' Day| last=Maughan| first=Jennifer| publisher=[[Life123]]| accessdate=April 4, 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Cartes postales poissons d'avril.jpg|thumb|French April fools [[postcard]]s (''Poissons d'avril'')]]

=== Poland ===

In Poland, ''prima aprilis'' ("1 April" in [[Latin]]) is a day full of jokes; various hoaxes are prepared by people, media (which sometimes cooperate to make the "information" more credible) and even public institutions. Serious activities are usually avoided. This conviction is so strong that the anti-Turkish alliance with [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold I]] signed on April 1, 1683, was backdated to March 31.<ref>{{cite web|title=Origin of April Fools’ Day|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/359171/origin-of-april-fools-day/|publisher=The Express Tribune|accessdate=May 27, 2013}}</ref>

=== Norway, Denmark and Sweden ===

Norwegians, Danes and Swedes celebrate April Fools' Day (''aprilsnar'' in Danish). Most news media outlets will publish exactly one false story on April 1; for newspapers this will typically be a first-page article but not the top headline.<ref>{{cite web|title=April Fool’s Day: 8 Interesting Things And Hoaxes You Didn't Know|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/april-fool%E2%80%99s-day-8-interesting-things-and-hoaxes-you-didnt-know-432502|publisher=International Business Times|accessdate=May 27, 2013}}</ref>

=== April fish ===

In Italy, France, Belgium, and French-speaking areas of Switzerland and Canada, April 1 tradition is often known as "April fish" (''poisson d'avril'' in French or ''pesce d'aprile'' in Italian). This includes attempting to attach a paper fish to the victim's back without being noticed. Such fish feature prominently on many late 19th- to early 20th-century French April Fools' Day [[postcard]]s.

== April Fools' Day pranks ==

{{Main|List of April Fool's Day jokes}}

As well as people playing pranks on one another on April Fools' Day, elaborate practical jokes have appeared on radio and TV stations, newspapers, web sites, and have been performed by large corporations. In one famous prank from 1957, the [[BBC]] broadcast a fake film of Swiss farmers picking freshly-grown spaghetti, in what they called the [[Spaghetti tree hoax|Swiss Spaghetti Harvest]]. The BBC were later flooded with requests to purchase a spaghetti plant, forcing them to declare the film a prank on the news the next day.<ref>{{cite web|title=Swiss Spaghetti Harvest|url=http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/permalink/the_swiss_spaghetti_harvest|accessdate=November 2013}}</ref> With the advent of the internet and readily available global news services, April Fool's pranks can catch and embarrass a wider audience than ever before.<ref name=Moran>{{cite news|last=Moran|first=Rob|title=NPR’s Brilliant April Fools’ Day Prank Was Sadly Lost On Much Of The Internet|url=http://junkee.com/nprs-brilliant-april-fools-day-prank-was-sadly-lost-on-much-of-the-internet/32077|accessdate=6 April 2014|date=4 April 2014}}</ref>

== Comparable prank days ==

December 28, the equivalent day in Spain and [[Hispano-America]], is also the Christian day of celebration of the "[[Día de los Inocentes|Day of the Holy Innocents]]". The Christian celebration is a holiday in its own right, a religious one, but the tradition of pranks is not, though the latter is observed yearly. After somebody plays a joke or a prank on somebody else, the joker usually cries out, in some regions of Ibero-America: ''Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar'' ("You innocent little dove that let yourself be fooled"). In Mexico, the phrase is ''¡Inocente para siempre!'' which means "Innocent forever!". In Argentina, the prankster says ''¡Que la inocencia te valga!'', which roughly translates as a piece of advice on not to be as gullible as the victim of the prank. In Spain, it is common to say just ''¡Inocente!'' (which in Spanish can mean "Innocent!", but also "Gullible!"). Nevertheless, on the Spanish island of [[Minorca]], ''Dia d'enganyar'' ("Fooling day") is celebrated on April 1 because Menorca was a British possession during part of the 18th century. In Brazil, the "Dia da mentira" ("Day of the lie") is also celebrated on April 1.<ref>{{cite web

| date=April 1, 2003

| accessdate=April 4, 2013}}</ref>

== Reception ==

The practice of April Fool pranks and hoaxes is controversial.<ref name="yahoo1">{{cite web|last=Doll |first=Jen |url=http://news.yahoo.com/april-fools-day-worst-holiday-175852795.html |title=Is April Fools' Day the Worst Holiday? – Yahoo News |publisher=News.yahoo.com |date=2013-04-01 |accessdate=2014-04-01}}</ref><ref name="Independent" /> The mixed opinions of critics are epitomised in the reception to the 1957 BBC "Spaghetti-tree hoax", in reference to which, newspapers were split over whether it was "a great joke or a terrible hoax on the public".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26723188 |title=BBC News – Is this the best April Fool's ever? |publisher=Bbc.com |date= |accessdate=2014-04-01}}</ref>

The positive view is that April Fools can be good for one's health because it encourages "jokes, hoaxes...pranks, [and] belly laughs", and brings all the benefits of laughter including stress relief and reducing strain on the heart.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.health.com/2013/04/01/why-april-fools-day-is-good-for-your-health/ |title=Why April Fools’ Day is Good For Your Health – Health News and Views – Health.com |publisher=News.health.com |date=2013-04-01 |accessdate=2014-04-01}}</ref> There are many "best of" April Fools' Day lists that are compiled in order to showcase the best examples of how the holiday is celebrated.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/04/01/april-fools-best-online-pranks |title=April Fools: the best online pranks &#124; SBS News |publisher=Sbs.com.au |date= |accessdate=2014-04-01}}</ref> Various April Fools campaigns have been praised for their innovation, creativity, writing, and general effort&nbsp;– especially those from the major corporations such as Google and Apple.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

The negative view describes April Fools hoaxes as "creepy and manipulative", "rude" and "a little bit nasty", as well as based on [[schadenfreude]] and deceit.<ref name="yahoo1" /> It has been argued that when genuine news is published on April Fools' Day, it can be misinterpreted as a joke. On the other hand, sometimes stories intended as jokes are taken seriously. Either way, there can be adverse effects, such as confusion;<ref>{{cite web|last=Woods |first=Michael |url=http://globalnews.ca/news/445856/brazeau-tweets-his-resignation-on-april-fools-day-causing-confusion/ |title=Brazeau tweets his resignation on April Fool’s Day, causing confusion – National |publisher=Globalnews.ca |date=2013-04-02 |accessdate=2014-04-01}}</ref> misinformation; waste of resources (especially when the hoax concerns people in danger); even legal or commercial consequences.<ref name=Hasham>{{cite news|last=Hasham|first=Nicole|title=ASIC to look into prank Metgasco email from schoolgirl Kudra Falla-Ricketts|url=http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/asic-to-look-into-prank-metgasco-email-from-schoolgirl-kudra-fallaricketts-20140402-35yy7.html|accessdate=3 April 2014|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=3 April 2013}}</ref><ref name=Bieber>{{cite news|title=Justin Bieber's Believe album hijacked by DJ Paz|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/justin-biebers-believe-album-hijacked-by-dj-paz-20140403-35zy2.html|accessdate=3 April 2014|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=3 April 2014}}</ref>

== Cultural references ==

[[Bryce Courtenay]] wrote a novel called [[April Fool's Day (novel)|''April Fool's Day'']], first published in 1993.<ref name=Courtenay>{{cite book|last=Courtenay|first=Bryce|title=April Fool's Day|year=1993|publisher=W. Heinemann Australia|location=Port Melbourne, Victoria|isbn=0-85561-479-X}}</ref> In some editions the title is ''April Fool's Day: a modern tragedy'';<ref>[http://library.sl.nsw.gov.au/record=b1574560~S2 Catalogue record] from the [[State Library of New South Wales]]</ref> in others, it is ''April Fool's Day: a modern love story''.<ref>[http://library.sl.nsw.gov.au/record=b1625920~S2 Catalogue record] from the [[State Library of New South Wales]]</ref>

Films, telemovies and television episodes have used April Fool's Day as their title.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/find?q=April+Fools+Day&s=all IMDb listing]</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Fun]]

== References ==

{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==

* Wainwright, Martin (2007). [http://books.google.com/books?id=PTLgAAAAMAAJ ''The Guardian Book of April Fool's Day'']. Aurum. ISBN 1-84513-155-X

== External links ==