It’s the one day of year you can not trust anything that you hear or see—April Fool’s Day. The annual day of pranks, tricks, and shenanigans, falls on Tuesday in 2025.
The History of April Fool’s Day
While the exact origins of April Fool’s Day are uncertain, it is believed to have possibly evolved from the transition of the Julian calendar to the Gregorian in France during the 1500s. In the Julian calendar the year began on April 1st, but in the Gregorian calendar however, the new year was set to begin on January 1st. Because news did not travel fast in those days, not everyone got the word that the date of the new year changed. Those who continued to celebrate the new year on April 1st were mocked and referred to as “April Fools”.
The Greatest April Fool’s Pranks
Great Britain has a reputation for pulling off some of the greatest April Fool’s pranks. In 1980, for instance, BBC announced that London’s historic clock tower Big Ben would be turning digital. Enraged callers flooded the station with complaints. “Few people thought it was funny,” said a broadcaster at the time.
One of Denmark’s most notable jokes occurred in 1965, when a Copenhagen newspaper reported that Parliament passed a law that all dogs must be painted white so that they can be seen more clearly at night to improve road safety. The joke was debunked after readers began calling the newspaper questioning its truthfulness.
In France, April Fools day jokes are taken to a whole new level, in 1986, Le Parisien, told readers that the Eiffel tower was going to be sold to Walt Disney Productions. It would be dismantled and built inside the new Euro Disney Park. The move was to make way for a new sports stadium.
China’s one-child policy was implemented in 1979 with goals to control the rapid growth in population. In 1993, China’s Youth Daily newspaper published claiming that the government had relaxed the one-child policy—allowing PhD holders more children. The government condemned the joke calling it a Western tradition.
Even though the origins of April Fool’s day remain a mystery, its presence around the globe shows how universal the love of laughter really is. What began as possible confusion over the calendar, has become a much adored excuse to prank, joke, and laugh. April Fools serves as an annual reminder to not take things too seriously.
