Facts about April Fools’ Day

Historians think that April Fools’ Day was created due to a calendar error made by France, when in 1582, the country switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. This caused the celebration of New Year’s Day to move from April 1 back to January 1. And anyone who continued to celebrate the arrival of the new year at the beginning of April was labelled a fool. 

Another explanation of the origins of April Fools’ Day was provided by Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University. He explained that the practice began during the reign of Constantine, when a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that they could do a better job of running the empire. Constantine, amused, allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day, and the custom became an annual event. 

It is known that England made April Fools’ Day happen in 1700, as a day for people to play pranks on each other. The tradition quickly gained popularity throughout the UK during the 18th century.