April Fools Day is a day filled with many fun times. Even though its exact origins are unknown, it is embraced by cultures worldwide. April Fools’ Day is celebrated with jokes and pranks, uniting people in the spirit of joy and laughter. This holiday has been transforming over centuries into the holiday we know today. Historians speculate that its origins date back to 1582 in France, when the calendar was switched this left people who did not get the news confused.
Historians have linked this holiday to other festivities like Hilaria which was celebrated in Rome. This holiday involved people dressing up in disguises, mocking fellow citizens, and even magistrates. In Scotland, April Fools Day became a two-day event, starting with “hunting the gowk,” in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk means cuckoo bird) the next day is Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people’s bottom, such as pinning fake tails or “kick me” signs put on the back of people.
Today, people are going to great distances to do April Fools jokes. Even newspapers, radio and TV stations, and websites participate in the April 1 tradition, by reporting outrageous fictional claims. For example, in 1996 Taco Bell tricked people when they said Philadelphia had agreed to sell the Liberty Bell to Taco Bell, and they would rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. Students here at Rio even got in on the fun, seventh grader Zak Wheatley says, “I pranked my friend by wrapping him in toilet paper in the restroom stall.” In the end, when April Fools day was started it is very similar to what we know it as today.