April first has become an international favorite day to pull pranks on friends or say or do something without consequence because you shouted “April Fools!” right after you did it. But where exactly did this tradition come from?
No one knows where the humorous holiday started, but historians have a few ideas. Some think it started in ancient Rome, possibly following the festival known as Hilaria. Some believe Hilaria was a celebration of the spring equinox, while others think it was a ritual of the cult of Cybele, which involved dressing up in disguises and mocking other Romans.
The idea that April Fools came from the equinox stems from the vernal equinox, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, which tends to fool people into thinking it will be warm when it actually stays cold for months.
Another theory is that April Fool’s day came from the change in calendars in the 1500s. When the French switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1582, the start of the new year changed. On the Julian calendar, the new year started on the first day of spring around April first, but the change meant that the new year would start in January.
Since there was no quick, easy way to notify people about these changes, some didn’t get the memo until later in the year. Some still celebrated the new year with the arrival of spring and were known as “April Fools,” which sparked jokes and pranks played on those who still hadn’t learned of the change.
The tradition spread through Europe in the 1700s, and different areas had their own versions. Scotland took it seriously, with two separate days dedicated to playing pranks and sending people off to do fake tasks.
Today, silly jokes and pranks are still customary around the world. News outlets will put out joke headlines, social media creators tease fake announcements, and people pull pranks to find out how gullible their friends are. Illinois Wesleyan tends to take the day to post about our beloved unofficial mascot, so stay tuned for some Nigel the Goose content.
