April fool’s day is celebrated on the 1st of April every year. The history behind celebrating this day goes back to a custom that is believed to have originated in France in the 16th century. When the Gregorian calendar was adopted, a change was made shifting New Year’s Day from April 1st to January 1st. However, there continued a tradition of celebrating New Year by some people on April 1st after which they used to be referred to as ‘˜April fools’ and tricks being played on them.

Some of the interesting facts about April fool’s Day are:

• France refers to 1st of April as ‘˜Poisson d’Avril’ literally translating to ‘˜Fish of April’. Children play pranks on their friends by taping a paper fish onto people’s backs and hence such a name. Once the person discovers the paper fish, the prankster shouts ‘˜Poisson d’Avril’.

• Playing pranks on this day is restricted only to the morning hours in countries like Canada and England.

• Scotland celebrates April’s Fool for 2 days. The second day of April is referred to as Taily Day.

• Similar pranks like the French are played by the Scottish, involving the backside and it is believed to have started the tradition of ‘œkick me’ signs pinned on people’s buttocks. Scotland calls their victims or fools – ‘œgowks’ meaning cuckoo birds.

• Search engine Google has had a tradition of playing pranks and fooling users worldwide every year. In 2010, they announced they had officially changed their name to ‘˜Topeka’; in 2013 they claimed to introduce a new feature known as the ‘˜Google smell’ where viewers could smell the things they searched for.

• In the early 1950s, BBC featured a special news telling people about the discovery of spaghetti harvest in Switzerland. Many people were fooled and even questioned on how they could grow their own spaghetti trees in their backyards.

• In 1980, once again BBC announced that the Big Ben would be giving a digital readout of the time, keeping up with changing technology of the times. Many people believing it were disappointed.

• The BBC Japanese Radio Service went a step ahead and promised sell the four clock hands to the first four listeners contacting them. A Japanese Seaman in the mid-Atlantic is said to have contacted the Radio during the prank bid.

• In 1860, residents of London received a special invitation to view the annual ceremony of washing white lions at the Tower of London and were asked to gather at the White Gate. Large crowds gathered only to discover that the London Tower hadn’t had any lions for centuries.

• Joseph Boskin, a professor emeritus of American humour at Boston University played a unique prank citing new found origins of April Fool’s Day. He told the Press that the tradition began with the Roman jesters during the time of Constantine I way back in the 3rd or 4th century A.D. When Constantine handed over his power to King Kugel his jester on 1st April for a day, the tradition began by the declaration of Kugel.

Humour has a lot to offer to society and gives human beings a much needed perspective. In today’s fast paced lives we often find it difficult to keep up with the reality that surrounds us and it is humour that helps us sit back and enjoy those little joys of life.