April Fool's Day

April Fool's Day History

April Fool's Day is a light-hearted comedic day of cheers, practical jokes, and hoaxes. It has been observed for centuries although its origins still remain unclear. It has been suggested that in ancient Roman and Hindu cultures, the day originally marked New Year’s Day. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII issued the Gregorian calendar which moved New Year’s Day from April 1st to January 1st. It is believed that those who continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1st were referred to as fools, leading to the concept of April 1st representing All Fool’s Day. It has also been suggested that April Fool's Day is related to the vernal equinox, the beginning of spring, when Mother Nature plays sudden weather tricks on people.

The custom of April Fool's was brought from Britain to the US centuries ago. Both kids and adults in North America and in Europe have developed traditional customs to celebrate the day. These typically include fooling another person and yelling April fools.

Top 9 Facts for April Fool's Day in 2026

• A common theory regarding the origin of April Fool's Day suggests it began in 1582 when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, resulting in those who continued to celebrate the new year in spring being mocked as "fools."
• In 1957, the British Broadcasting Corporation aired a famous segment on its current affairs program Panorama depicting Swiss farmers harvesting spaghetti from trees, which led hundreds of viewers to contact the network asking how to grow their own pasta crops.
• The global technology giant Apple Inc. was officially founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976, a date specifically chosen to reflect the founders' rebellious and playful spirit.
• In France and Italy, the holiday is referred to as Poisson d’Avril and Pesce d’Aprile respectively, where children traditionally attempt to pin a paper poisson, or fish, onto the backs of unsuspecting friends as a lighthearted prank.
• According to long-standing tradition in many Commonwealth countries, all pranks must be completed by midday, and anyone attempting a joke after the noon hour is themselves considered the April Fool for failing to observe the temporal cutoff.
• One of the earliest recorded mass hoaxes occurred in 1698 when citizens of London were invited to the Tower of London to witness the "Washing of the Lions," only to find that no such ceremony existed.
• In 1996, the fast-food chain Taco Bell took out full-page advertisements in several major newspapers announcing it had purchased the Liberty Bell and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell to help reduce the national debt.
• In Scotland, the observance traditionally lasts for two days, beginning with Huntigowk Day—named after the gowk, or cuckoo—where victims are sent on "fool's errands" to deliver sealed messages that simply ask the recipient to send them even further away.
• Modern digital culture saw a significant shift in 2020 when Google announced it would pause its long-standing tradition of elaborate April Fool's Day pranks out of respect for global health challenges, a hiatus that has fundamentally altered how major tech firms approach the holiday.

In the News and Trending in the US for April Fool's Day

Top things to do in the US for April Fool's Day

• Stay on guard! You will surely be the victim of a prank during April Fools' Day, so be extra-careful of pranksters looming around you.
• One of the best ways to fool someone on April Fools' Day is to call them first thing in the morning. This way, they are less likely to realize that it is April Fools' Day. Our top 3 phone call pranks:
  1) Breaking news - create a fictional breaking news item about politics, celebrities, events in your city, etc.
  2) You're late for work - tell your friend that the time is 11AM and they aren't at work or school yet.
  3) Escaped monkey - a monkey from the local zoo is wandering in the backyard. You just saw a news clip of the monkey on the local news.
• You can use social media like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to dupe your friends and family. Celebrities have been fooled on April Fools Day by fake news that is propelled by fans on social media.
• Watch a hidden-camera or practical joke TV show. Our top 3 picks:
  1) Punk’d
  2) Just for Laughs: Gags
  3) Impractical Jokers