Ever wonder where April Fools’ Day originated, or who played the first April Fools’ joke?
It’s a day that’s been observed for centuries but no one’s clear on its origins, although there are plenty of theories.
One theory is it resembles an ancient Roman religious festival called Hilaria which took place between March 25th and 31st – the festivities were similar to April Fools’ pranks.
Another involves the change of the calendar in France – in 1564 the calendar changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. Easter had always marked the first day of the new year but the new calendar marked it as January 1st. Those who continued to operate in the ‘old calendar’ became the target of jokes and were known as ‘April Fools’.
All this shows is April Fools’ Day goes back a long way and is one of the few festivals that didn’t originate in Ireland…although, you never know.
Having said that I think everyone would agree April Fools’ Day has taken on a new dimension in the modern world and it’s so easy to use digital media to spread stories and to make pranks look so realistic.
My favourite April Fools’ Day joke was delivered in 1976 when astronomer Sir Patrick Moore told a BBC radio show the alignment of planets Jupiter and Pluto would reduce the Earth’s gravity at exactly 9:47 am. He told the audience to jump at exactly that time to experience the ‘Jovian-Plutonian Gravitational Effect’, and apparently people did.
