History Of April Fool's Day - Why Is It Celebrated?

Every year, most of us will either prank or get pranked by our friends on one particular day which is the 1st of April known as April Fool. The question is what is the meaning behind April Fool's day and why is it only celebrated on that day?

Despite its originating in Europe, it is not only limited to the western parts of the world. The whole world seems to celebrate this moment and some of the lies and things that you do to your friends can be embarrassing most of the time.

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According to historians, this well-known belief with regard to April Fools Day occurred back in 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII ordered the new calendar(Gregorian) to replace the old calendar(Julian).

It all actually started on 1st January and not 1st April making the new year to be celebrated on 1st January. The first country to accept and amend this new change on its calendar will be France.

However, there are several European countries that refused or even were not aware of this change on the new calendar. And because of this, these countries kept on celebrating the new year on the 1st of April and were considered a fool.

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People then start making a fool and tricking the people who still believed in something wrong. They were laughed at by others and were played in various ways including what is known as Poisson d'Avril'.

A shape of a fish was cut and stuck on their backs as a sign that they were easily fooled similar to how a fish were stupid enough to catch the bait. This tradition is still ongoing in France, Belgium, and some parts of Switzerland and Canada which still speak French.

Aside from that April Fool was believed to have started in ancient times and had a very fun culture when spring arrived. For instance, the ancient Romans celebrated one festival known as Hilaria which happens on the final week of March to commemorate the day God Attis was resurrected.

At the same time, the Indians saw the Holi celebration as an opportunity to have fun and play around by spraying color at one another. The result is there exists an atmosphere where fun and enjoyment are followed around the world for decades-long from winter to spring.

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