Despite its popularity, April Fool's Day is not a national holiday. Popular since the 19th century, April Fool's Day is celebrated by pranksters in Canada, Australia, Brazil, the United States, and parts of Europe.

 

References to April Fool's Day can be traced back to as early as the 1500s, but information on its origins is vague and infrequent. The beginnings of April Fool's day remain something of a mystery, but many throughout history have offered their takes on the holiday for hoaxers. One of the more popular theories suggests that April Fool's Day sprung up after the French calendar reform in 1564. France moved the start of the year from the end of March to January 1, and those who continued to celebrate the new year in March were the victims of pranks. Pranksters stuck paper fish to the backs of unwitting victims. To this day, Poisson d'Avril, or April Fish, is the term used for April Fool's Day in France.

 

Other cultures celebrated the new year on or around April 1, including many Romans and Hindus. The timing coincided with the vernal equinox. Spring often heralded the start of the new year. Some have linked April Fool's Day to the notion of "spring fever." There may be something about changing from winter to spring to serve as the catalyst of festive, lighthearted celebrations.

 

Today, people all around the world celebrate April Fool's Day with silly pranks and attempts to convince people to believe in things that are truly ridiculous. Unless one wants to be the victim of a prank, he or she should take things said and done on April 1 with a grain of salt. Nothing is what it seems on April Fool's Day, and that's part of the fun of it.

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