The History of April Fools’ Day, and Why We Celebrate

April first is pranksters’ paradise: tape over a computer mouse sensor, put food coloring in milk, freeze cereal in the bowl—the ideas for practical jokes are endless. The only thing funnier than April Fools’ Day pranks is perhaps one of the longest running jokes: To this day, no one is sure why we celebrate April Fools’ Day. Here are a few common theories and some background on this mischievous holiday.

When is April Fools’ Day?

Before getting into the history of April Fools’ Day, it’s important to know when we celebrate it. April Fools’ Day always falls on the first day of April. April Fools’ Day 2024 is on a Monday—so we can add a little extra frivolity to the start of the week. For die-hard pranksters already thinking ahead, it falls on a Tuesday in 2025.

What are the origins of April Fools’ Day?

Historians have several theories about the origins of April Fools’ Day, but it’s clear that the tradition of prank-pulling is centuries old. 

One possible explanation for the holiday comes from an ancient Roman festival called Hilaria, which was celebrated near the start of April. Hilaria called for all sorts of amusements and games—including masquerades and imitations.

Others believe it can be traced back to 16th-century France, when the switch was made from the Julian calendar—which began the new year in March—to the Gregorian calendar. It is thought that people who were still celebrating the new year in the spring were teased. 

In France, poisson d’avril—or "April fish"—is what you’d call someone who is tricked on April Fools’ Day. The term is first referenced in a poem from 1508. It stems from how fish were more easily caught in the spring, and therefore more "gullible" than any other time of year. 

The origins of April Fools’ Day is so ambiguous that a professor at Boston University, Joseph Boskin, once tricked the Associated Press with his own tale as to how the holiday came about. This hoax dated April Fools’ back to the Roman Empire under Constantine, when a made-up jester named Kugel (inspired by the Jewish noodle dish) was made king for a day.

The first definitive reference to April Fools’ Day came in 1561, in a Flemish poem by Eduard de Dene. The poem tells of a nobleman sending his servant on fruitless errands. The servant recognized that, because it was April 1st, he was being sent on fool’s errands. (Sending someone to find a non-existent item or person is still a popular prank, so if you’re brainstorming how to fool friends and family this year, look no further.)

How do people around the world celebrate April Fools' Day?

A new tradition is for companies and news media to create fanciful prank stories, as started by the BBC with a 1950s story about people harvesting a bumper crop of spaghetti from trees. Some notable brand examples: in 2015, Google flipped the script (literally) by displaying search results as a mirror image. In 2017, Duolingo announced a new course to help you "speak emoji." (Something that would be great for your grandparents and parents, am I right?) And in 2022, 7-Eleven announced a "tiny gulp" which looks like it's the perfect size for Barbie.

But many countries have traditions around pranking in the days surrounding April 1st. Here are a few of our favorites:

France and Italy The "April fish" French tradition is alive and well there and in Italy, where it's called pesce d'aprile. To celebrate, paper fish cutouts are taped to the backs of unsuspecting folks, and some bakeries serve up fish-shaped treats. (Maybe a perfect excuse to make some fish-shaped cookies?)

Scotland The Scottish apparently dedicate two whole days to fun and pranks. April 1st is called "Huntigowk" (AKA hunt a cuckoo), where you try to send your gowk out on a pointless errand or otherwise trick them. Tailie Day, on April 2nd, is more similar to the "April fish" tradition, where Scots try to secretly pin a tail or even a "kick me" sign to the back of an unsuspecting mark.

Brazil Brazil's traditions are similar to ours, but the day has a different name: Dia Das Mentiras, AKA the Day of Lies.

Greece Could playing a prank bring you good luck? In Greece, if you're successful at playing a prank on April 1st, it's believed you'll have a prosperous year.

What are some fun April Fools’ Day pranks?

April Fools' Day is all about pranks, so the best way to celebrate is by pulling one of your own. Just play it safe and make sure whatever pranks you pull won't harm others.

• If you have kids in your household, stuff tissues in the toes of their shoes and see if you can convince them their feet grew overnight. 
• Disguise dessert as dinner with this poundcake made to look like a grilled cheese sandwich. 
• Stick a bowl of cereal in the freezer overnight and watch them try to eat it frozen.
• Swap out the water in their opaque water bottle with Sprite, sparkling water, or another fun drink.
• Put a few drops of food coloring in a milk or fruit juice container and serve up a strange-colored beverage for breakfast.
• Rearrange furniture in a room or items in a cabinet.
• Ask a family member or roommate to find an item you know you don't own.
• Chill gelatin in a glass with a straw in it, and serve it as an undrinkable drink with dinner.
• Put your printer in action and swap out the family photos around your house with funny pics. You might want to replace pictures of you and your mate Homer and Marge Simpson, or a cast photo from The Office for your family. See how long it takes for your family to notice the difference. (One guy changed out his parents' portrait of Jesus for pictures of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi—and it went unnoticed for months.)
• Add googly eyes to food packaging in your fridge, your pantry, and your family's lunch boxes—even on fruit like oranges or bananas.
• Bombard them with balloons. Fill a small area they're likely to open—a pantry door, the fridge, their car, their closet—with balloons, and let them cascade onto them when they open up.
• Rick Roll them. Send your loved ones a link (say it's a recipe, a cool concert coming up, or whatever will grab their attention). But make it a link to Rick Astley's classic, "Never Gonna Give You Up." (We've created a nice short, nondescript Tinyurl for you here: https://tinyurl.com/3e8br5j7.)
• If you have a smart home device like an Alexa or Google Nest, you can get into all sorts of trouble! Try setting up routines to have the lights flash on and off for minutes at a time, have random music (or even fart noises!) start playing for no apparent reason, or set it to speak much slower or faster than it usually does.