April 1: April Fools' Day!!

Why April 1 is called April Fools’ Day, is not known exactly. There have been many theories and explanations for its origin. Some people believe the celebration of April Fool's Day began many years ago in France.

Ancient cultures, including those as varied as the Romans and the Hindus, celebrated New Year's Day on -or around- April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, most of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year, which came at the same time as spring.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar celebrated New Year's Day on January 1. That year, France adopted the reformed calendar and as a result, changed New Year's day to Jan. 1. According to a popular explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not know about the change, and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists. How? Before the change of the date, people used to give gifts on the first day of the year, therefore when the date was changed people began sending silly, stupid presents to those who still celebrated New year on April 1, just to laugh at them. And the practice spread throughout Europe (including Great Britain) making those people ‘April Fools’

This is just a theory, and actually, there are many people who say there must be other explanations. Some experts, for instance, say it might have started in the Roman festival of Hilaria, or perhaps in the Celtic celebrations of their god Lud, both taking place at this time of the year. Well, If you want to read more about this, you can try HERE.

Any examples of April Fools pranks (jokes)? For instance, In 1977 an English TV documentary stated that there was a base on Planet Mars where hundreds of famous scientists were living and investigating, far from the dangers of Planet Earth. Many people thought this was true!! Back in 1992 it was announced that Richard Nixon was running for U.S. President … again!!. Some years before, it was said that a terrible planetary alignment would make The Earth’s gravity to decrease, so you could float or even fly if you just jumped. In 1986, it was reported that the Eiffel Tower would be moved to Euro Disney. These crazy news had one thing in common… they were released on April 1, or at least they had been designed for this particular date.

Many different kinds of tricks are played on April Fools' Day. It is important to remember however that the jokes one plays should be all in good fun for both sides. April Fools' Day should not be a day to play nasty jokes on unsuspecting victims. One must remember the difference between a good joke and a bad one.

April 1 is celebrated in many different places, including Russia,where it is called "Yumorina" (sounds like "humour") or Turkey, where people call it "Bir Nisan" (nothing to do with a car: it means "April the first"). In India the children celebrate the festival of "Holi", and they play tricks such as putting salt in the tea or firing water pistols. . And in many countries April Fools' Day is celebrated on other days, different from April 1. In Spain, Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, the equivalent to April Fools' Day is celebrated on December 28, and it tells us the horrible story of many small children killed by King Herod to get rid of Jesus Christ. In ancient Rome the same day was celebrated on the 25th of March. And in India the celebration is on March 31.

Everywhere around the world April 1 is not only a normal day, it is THE DAY for jokes . Everywhere except here, of course, where our tradition marks December 28. That's the reason why we are not really aware of this date in Spain, but try not to contact an English-speaking person on this date, because YOU may be the object of a joke !!