According to Yahoo!’s The Buzz Log, online research into all things April Fools’ Day (practical jokes, pranks, etc.) is up 40% over last year. Clearly, there’s some need of levity out there. Before we present some April Fools’ links for your amusement, let’s get serious and find out where this celebration of hi-jinks comes from.
On April 1, 1983, the Associated Press ran an explanation of the origins of April Fools’ Day by Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University. According to Boskin, the “holiday” began when the Roman emperor Constantine allowed Kugel, a court jester, to run the empire for a day after he and a group of other jesters and fools told the emperor that they could run things better.
During his day-long reign, Kugel called for a 24-hour observation of absurdity. Boskin reminded us that “in those times fools were really wise men. It was the role of jesters to put things in perspective with humor.” Thus began the annual tradition…or not. Two weeks after the article ran, the AP realized the joke was on them. The story was bogus.
A popular explanation, albeit one not without debate, is that April Fools’ Day began in 1564 in France, the first European nation to — by decree of Charles IX — move its celebration of New Year’s Day to January 1 from on or around April 1. (In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.)
News of the change traveled slowly by foot. Some were simply “late to the party,” so to speak, and continued to celebrate New Year’s on April 1; others refused to celebrate on the new New Year, were dubbed “fools,” and were the first to suffer the playful ridicule that unites millions every April 1…or not. There’s no consensus on the origins of April Fools’ Day. Snopes.com provides some other explanations.
For your April 1 amusement:
USA Today’s Roundup of This Year’s Pranks, Hoaxes and the Sort
Wired’s Top 10 April Fools’ Pranks for Nerds
The Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time (care of the Museum of Hoaxes)