April 1 has always been known to be the day that everyone would term as April Fools Day. It is a day where friends and pranksters play jokes on their friends and colleagues. British customs call for it to be done before noon, otherwise, the joke would boomerang with the known rhyme “April Fool is gone and past, you’re the bigger fool at last”.
Common pranks would be similar to asking a person to find something or go somewhere when in fact they do not really exist. Such is a common practice done all over the world, although no one really knows where it all started. There are theories however and one of them traces back to the British roots. Among them:
“People used to give presents to one another. In 1564, Charles IX, the French king, adopting the Gregorian calendar and fixed January 1st as New Year’s Day. Those who were against the revision continued to express their complaints by giving presents or paying New Year’s visits on April 1st. In the following years, these traditionalists who insisted on celebrating the New Year at its old time were mocked as fools and people would play pranks and tricks on them and called them ` Poisson d’avril ‘, meaning April Fish.- British Culture, British Customs and British Traditions”
[tags]english occassions, april fools, jokes, pranks[/tags]