by Viknesh

Created on: March 25, 2007   Last Updated: April 01, 2008

There are many theories behind the history of April Fool's day. But the prevailing one involves Charles IX and the change in the calendar.

Around 1582 in France, Charles IX decided to introduce the Gregorian calendar. As a result, New Year's Day was changed from March 25-April 1(New Year's Week) to January 1. However, in those times, without modern telecommunication devices, news spread very slowly. Thus, many years after this change, people were still uninformed and did not know about this change. In addition to this group of people, there were some traditionalists who refused to accept the change in the calender and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Both these groups were labeled as fools. They were given 'fool's errands' and were ridiculed. They had numerous pranks played on them.

This treatment continued for some time till it became a tradition in its own right. Other countries such as Britain and Scotland caught on to this and soon, developed their own version of April Fool's Day. The proliferation of this tradition over time means that now, April Fool's day is now celebrated internationally. Though known by different names in various countries, its essence remains the same no matter where we are.

The internet is rife with sites dedicated to this day and the pranks that one can play. This is indeed a great testament to the popularity of April Fool's day.

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