There are different origin stories
associated with April Fools’ Day. Some historians suggest that it was first
observed in 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to Gregorian
calendar.
Celebrated on April 1 every year,
April Fools’ Day is when people are subjected to pranks, hoaxes and practical
jokes. People usually yell ‘April Fool’ after pulling a prank on some on this
day.
History and Significance
The reason France adopted the
Gregorian calendar was that Julian calendar did not reflect the actual time the
Earth used to take to complete a revolution around the Sun.
In the Julian Calendar, as in the
Hindu calendar, the new year would commence with spring equinox around April 1.
Some people continued celebrating
the New Year in the end week of March or around April 1. They would become
targets for jokes and hoaxes and were called “April Fools.”
April Fools’ Day got popularised
in Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, it used to be celebrated for
two days.
It took more than 300 years for the Gregorian Calendar to be fully accepted. Turkey was the last country to officially adopt the new calendar system on January 1, 1927.