


In Scotland, April Fools' Day was originally called " Huntigowk Day". Thus a person playing a prank after midday is considered the "April fool" themselves. A study in the 1950s, by folklorists Iona and Peter Opie, found that in the UK, and in countries whose traditions derived from the UK, this continues to be the practice, with the custom ceasing at noon, after which time it is no longer acceptable to play pranks. In the UK, an April Fool prank is sometimes later revealed by shouting "April fool!" at the recipient, who becomes the "April fool". On April Fools' Day 1980, the BBC announced Big Ben's clock face was going digital and whoever got in touch first could win the clock hands. The London Public Advertiser of March 13, 1769, printed: "The mistake of Noah sending the dove out of the ark before the water had abated, on the first day of April, and to perpetuate the memory of this deliverance it was thought proper, whoever forgot so remarkable a circumstance, to punish them by sending them upon some sleeveless errand similar to that ineffectual message upon which the bird was sent by the patriarch". McDonald wrote:Īuthorities gravely back with it to the time of Noah and the ark. In a 1908 edition of the Harper's Weekly cartoonist Bertha R. Īlthough no biblical scholar or historian is known to have mentioned a relationship, some have expressed the belief that the origins of April Fools' Day may go back to the Genesis flood narrative. On 1 April 1698, several people were tricked into going to the Tower of London to "see the Lions washed". In 1686, John Aubrey referred to the celebration as "Fooles holy day", the first British reference. This theory, however, provides no explanation for the international celebration of April Fools' Day. In this case, "bril" ("glasses" in Dutch) serves as a homonym for Brielle (the town where it happened). " Op 1 april verloor Alva zijn bril" is a Dutch proverb, which can be translated as: "On the first of April, Alva lost his glasses". In the Netherlands, the origin of April Fools' Day is often attributed to the Dutch victory in 1572 in the Capture of Brielle, where the Spanish Duke Álvarez de Toledo was defeated. April Fools' Day was also an established tradition in Great Britain before 1 January was established as the start of the calendar year. However, there are issues with this theory because there is an unambiguous reference to April Fools' Day in a 1561 poem by Flemish poet Eduard de Dene of a nobleman who sends his servants on foolish errands on 1 April, predating the change. The use of 1 January as New Year's Day became common in France only in the mid-16th century, and that date was not adopted officially until 1564, by the Edict of Roussillon, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for during the Council of Trent in 1563. Some writers suggest that April Fools' originated because, in the Middle Ages, New Year's Day was celebrated on 25 March in most European towns, with a holiday that in some areas of France, specifically, ended on 1 April, and those who celebrated New Year's Eve on 1 January made fun of those who celebrated on other dates by the invention of April Fools' Day. In 1508, French poet Eloy d'Amerval referred to a poisson d'avril (April fool, literally "April's fish"), possibly the first reference to the celebration in France. 2 May, the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, which took place in 1381. If so, the passage would have originally meant 32 days after March, i.e. Modern scholars believe that there is a copying error in the extant manuscripts and that Chaucer actually wrote, " Syn March was gon". However, it is not clear that Chaucer was referencing 1 April since the text of the "Nun's Priest's Tale" also states that the story takes place on the day when the sun is " in the sign of Taurus had y-rune Twenty degrees and one", which would not be 1 April. 32 days since March began, which is 1 April. In the " Nun's Priest's Tale", a vain cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox on " Since March began thirty days and two", i.e. No such event ever took place.Ī disputed association between 1 April and foolishness is in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1392). An 1857 ticket to "Washing the Lions" at the Tower of London in London.
