Today marks the end of March and April 1 is April Fools’ Day. However, not a lot of people know how this day of pranks and tricks started. According to Museum of Hoax site curator Alex Boese, April Fools was a ritual to welcome the start of spring.
Boese told USA Today that many people in different cultures are starting April with"mischief, misbehavior or deception.” He also added, "Pranks are very much associated with the start of new things.”
April 1’s origin can be seen through a poem in 1561 by Eduard de Denne, a Flemish writer who wrote about tricks being played on people during day one of the month. According to Museum of Hoaxes, the poem showed how a nobleman sends a servant to do errands that were absurd.
Boese added that the reference to April Fools was clearly shown in the poem dating in back in the middle of the 16th century in the Netherlands. USA Today wrote that another theory for April Fools started in France. The story said that the transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar had people playing tricks on those who were stuck with the old calendar.
How many April Fools' tricks have you encountered?
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