APRIL FOOLS’ DAY

1st of April is the time of the time of the year where we spend the day on playing tricks and pranks and spreading hoaxes on our friends and family. It is certainly a day of celebrating foolishness. Practices include having someone look for things that don’t exist or trying to get someone to believe ridiculous fake things. It is an annual celebration worldwide. The victims of these jokes and pranks are called ‘‘April fool’’. 

April Fools’ Day is also called All Fools’ Day, April Noddy Day, Gowkie Day, St. All-Fools Morn etc. The pranks and hoaxes are meant to be completely safe and harmless and funny. This day is most popular in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Europe and Australia. The custom of April Fools ’ Day has existed since Roman times when practical jokes were played on each other during a festival called Hilaria. The thing about this day is that nobody is offended. It is good to have a light-hearted day of the year. 

The exact origins, however, remain blurry. There are several claims about the beginning of this day. Some say is an evolution of the general rejoicing of springtime. There are also claims that the April Fools’ Day began in the 1550s when the Gregorian calendar took over from the Julian.

Other theories like the arrival of spring when nature ‘fools’ mankind with fickle weather, this is according to the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Some think it has something to do with the Vernal Equinox.

Also, some think it with the Romans’ end-of-winter celebration, Hilaria and the end of the Celtic New Year festival.

Also in the middle ages, New Year’s Day was celebrated on March 25 in most European countries. Some people suggest that April Fools’ Day originated because those who celebrated on January 1 made fun of those who celebrated on other dates. The use of January 1 as New Year’s Day was later adopted officially in 1564 by the Edict of Roussillon. 

The true origin still remains a mystery.

There are many superstitions like the pranking period expires at noon on 1st April and pranks or jokes made after that brings bad luck down onto the head of the one who tries it.  Also whoever fails to respond with a humour played upon them attracts bad luck. But not all superstitions are negative. It is said that those who are fooled by a pretty girl are said to be fated to end up marries to her or at least enjoy a good friendship with her. These are just superstitions believed by some people.

This day got various names across the globe. In Scotland it is called an April “gowk”- gowk means cuckoo. In France, it is “Poisson d’Avril. In England, it is called “gob, gawby or gobby”. There are traditional pranks in different countries. 

The way April Fools’ Day was celebrated earlier has changed over the years. Sending unsuspecting on pointless errands was a practical joke in those post-Julian days. In modern times, not just people fool their friends or family, even big organisations like the BBC has never lagged in making the viewers fools. 

For an instance, in 1976, BBC announced that on that day the gravity of earth would be reduced by a certain level and people who jumped in the air would lightly float in the air! Those who didn’t notice the day might have tried jumping hard and finally realised earth cannot lose its attraction and thus getting fooled making BBC accomplishing their goals.

That does not finish here; in 2008 BBC nailed it again when they telecasted news saying Penguins in Antarctica started flying and had flown to South America’s tropical rainforest. Certainly, the people got curious about the news and BBC again succeeded in fooling the people.

Another big news that people thought was a prank was when Google launched Gmail on the eve of April Fool's Day. It was thought to be a prank because of the unbelievable good features. But the company really launched the mailing king of today.

It is good to have such a day in the year, a day of laughter. We must make sure that our pranks and tricks must be funny but harmless.