April Fools

April Fool's Day History

April Fool's Day, also known as All Fool's Day in some regions, is a traditional celebration with humorous intentions. The main purpose is to play tricks or hoaxes on others, sometimes of a complex nature, intending to provoke laughter when the person realises they've been fooled. Significant, light-hearted pranks, both public and private, within the realms of good taste, form the crux of the observance. The media also get involved with quirkily false stories making headlines. The day ends with the prankster revealing the trick and uttering the phrase "April Fool".

The origins of April Fool's Day are not clear but theories point to the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century. Those still adhering to the Julian calendar were termed fools for celebrating New Year's Day on April 1st instead of January 1st. Traditions in the United Kingdom evolved over centuries, particularly growing in popularity during the 18th century. The UK also holds the record for one of the largest April Fool's Day pranks, conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1957, when they broadcast a report on Swiss farmers harvesting spaghetti from trees.

In the UK, it is customary to play pranks before noon on April Fool's Day. Any prank initiated after noon is considered to be in poor taste, with the prankster themselves becoming the 'April Fool'. Media outlets generally broadcast or publish a false story in the morning which is revealed as a hoax in the afternoon. However, no norms are legally binding or enforced as this is viewed as a day for fun and camaraderie. April Fool's Day is celebrated each year on April 1st.

Top 8 Facts for 2026 April Fools in the UK

• In the United Kingdom, a strictly observed traditional rule dictates that all pranks must be completed by 12:00 p.m., as anyone attempting a trick after midday is themselves considered the April Fool rather than the intended victim.
• One of the most legendary media hoaxes in British history occurred in 1957 when the BBC current affairs programme Panorama broadcast a segment on the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest, leading thousands of viewers to contact the broadcaster for advice on how to grow their own pasta trees.
• In Scotland, the celebration traditionally lasts for two days, beginning with Hunt the Gowk on April 1st—where gowk is a Scots word for a cuckoo or a fool—and continuing on April 2nd with Tailie Day, which is dedicated specifically to pranks involving the posterior.
• The earliest recorded large-scale prank in London took place in 1698, when numerous citizens were tricked into visiting the Tower of London to witness an imaginary ceremony described as the Washing of the Lions in the palace's moat.
• National newspapers in Britain have a long history of elaborate spoofs, such as the 1977 release of a seven-page travel supplement in The Guardian which detailed the fictional island nation of San Serriffe, complete with geographical features named after printing terms like Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse.
• British folklore links the day's origins to the 13th-century town of Gotham in Nottinghamshire, where residents supposedly feigned madness to trick King John's officials into believing the village was not worth taxing or passing through.
• In more recent years, the BBC continued its tradition of high-production hoaxes with the release of a viral trailer for a natural history series titled Miracles of Evolution, which appeared to show Adélie penguins flying from Antarctica to the South American rainforest.
• Historical texts often reference a possible early mention of the custom in The Canterbury Tales, where a potential misprint or riddle involving the date March 32 has led some scholars to believe Geoffrey Chaucer was making a 14th-century joke about the onset of April.

In the News and Trending in the UK for April Fools

Top things to do in the UK for April Fools

• 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.
• Attend the April Fool's Day Parade: Locations across the UK host April Fool's parades where attendees dress up in costumes and play pranks on each other.
• Participate in the Guardian Gnome Hunt: The Guardian Newspaper once announced a gnome hunt contest as an April Fool's joke, and it has now become an annual tradition.