How did April Fools’ Day begin? Here’s the history behind its mysterious origins
Across cultures, early spring is a time to let loose and play pranks—but historians can’t agree on who invented the custom of April 1 fun.
On April 1 every year, millions of people relish in the opportunity to pull harmless pranks and practical jokes. But how did the holiday emerge?
Though April Fools’ Day is widely celebrated throughout the English-speaking world, historians haven’t yet pinned down a definitive date or time for its emergence. Though it’s clear the holiday has existed in some form since at least the 1500s, competing theories attribute the holiday to medieval England or more modern France. Others insist the holiday is rooted in even older celebrations of spring in ancient Rome and elsewhere. Here’s why the holiday remains a merry mystery despite competing theories on its origins.
Why April 1? The top three contenders
Despite its murky origins, some textual evidence suggests the holiday could be over 600 years old. Folklorist Stephen Winick lays out three compelling contenders: one from England, two from France.
The custom of playing pranks on April 1 could date back to the Middle Ages—and evidence of its emergence may have been documented by English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. In his Nun’s Priest’s Tale, published circa 1390, Chaucer tells the tale of a rooster and fox who each attempt to fool one another. The poem refers to the pranks taking place 32 days after the beginning of March—which would place it on April 1. But some scholars believe the text includes typos introduced by a medieval scribe, throwing cold water on an English origin for the holiday.
The other two theories hail from France, which has celebrated “Poisson d’Avril” (April fish) day on the first day of April for centuries. Today, pranksters attempt to attach a paper fish to a victims’ back without them noticing, yelling “April fish!” once the victim realizes they’ve been fooled. But there’s potential textual evidence for the custom in a 1508 poem by French poet and composer Eloy D’Amerval, who referred to an “April fish” in his Book of Deviltry. This term may provide evidence for connecting fish with foolish people—or actually refer to a custom or holiday already in existence by the 16th century.
Or perhaps calendar confusion—the third contender for an April 1 origin story—sparked the French feast. In 1564, the teenaged French sovereign Charles IX went on a major tour of his kingdom, visiting over a hundred towns and cities. As he traveled, he found that different regions and cities adopted different calendars and feast days. So, he issued the Edict of Roussillon, a document that declared the French new year would fall on January 1.
Proponents of the third theory hold that Charles IX’s new French calendar convention—or possibly France’s adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1582—led to widespread confusion about the date of the new year. “Fools” may have insisted the year begins in April, not January, sparking lighthearted lampooning and a holiday that then spread across Europe and elsewhere.
Even more ancient spring shenanigans
Though all three of these potential origin stories of an April 1 holiday are contested, they point to spring as time for good-natured pranks and tricks—and harken back to fun, far older spring rituals. Though it’s unclear if these observations directly inspired the April Fools’ holiday, many ancient and modern spring festivals incorporate deception, disguise, and good-natured jokes. Take ancient Rome, where the festival of Hilaria was celebrated after the vernal equinox to mark the emergence of spring. Though its origins are also obscure, the oldest existing mentions of the holiday date from the third century C.E. The festival was part of a larger event that paid tribute to the fertility goddess Cybele (also known as Magna Mater).
(Why the equinox ushers in the arrival of spring.)
Described by religious historian Jacob Latham as a “masked carnival marked by licentious behavior,” the springtime festival gave those who celebrated a chance to unwind and celebrate with freedom that crossed class barriers. “Anyone can disguise himself as any character he wants,” noted Roman historian Herodian, who added that, “there is no position so important or exclusive that someone cannot disguise himself in that dress and play the fool by concealing his true identity.”
Other “foolish” festivals celebrated in spring include Holi, a Hindu spring festival that takes place in March and includes light-hearted pranks, and Sizdah Bedar, an Iranian festival held 13 days after the vernal equinox (April 2) as part of the festival of Nowruz. It’s a day for harmless lies and fun that feels similar to April Fools’…yet is thought to date as far back as 536 B.C.E.
Will we ever figure out why April 1 became April Fools’ Day? Probably not. As folklorist Alan Dundes wrote in 1988, “More than one hundred years of scholarship has unfortunately added very little to our knowledge and understanding of this curious custom.”
What is clear is the powerful draw of spring for those looking to slough off the doldrums of winter and have some light-hearted fun with one another. So if you’re an April fish, an acolyte of Magna Mater or just an April Fool, enjoy this year’s chance to prank and make merry—and know you’re participating in a tradition that’s very old indeed.
