April Fools' Day: A Time For Laughter, Creativity, And The Unexpected

This day is celebrated in many offices, schools, and among friends but we bet you have no clue why it is celebrated and what is the origin of this day! Are you aware of the reason and even when it came to India as well? Here are some questions answered.

When Did It Start?

Nobody has a clue when it did! There are many theories floating on the next and during Chinese whisper and hearsay but nothing concrete is known to mankind. Forget India, even on foreign shores, people give out different reasons, theories, and dates. 

Different Theories

 

 

 

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Renewal Festivals: Many believe that this day is for the renewal of festivals that marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

French Revolution: 1st April is also the anniversary of the French revolution. If we go according to the theory of some historians, on April 1, 1789, King George III of England fooled the French and English public after King Louis XVI pretended to step down. Naturally, the Peasants took to the streets to celebrate and make merry. They eventually got arrested and imprisoned.

Roman Mythology: The story is related to an ancient Roman goddess named  Proserpina, who got abducted by the ‘god of death’, Pluto. He brought her to live with him in the underworld. Proserpina, called her mother Ceres to seek her help but she couldn’t help her daughter as she could only hear the echo of Proserpina’s voice and searched in vain. This search which was never-ending was said to be the beginning of the ‘fool’s journey.

Some Fun, Interesting Pranks You Had No Clue About

• Gmail was released on April 01, 2004. Its services were widely assumed as an April Fools Day joke.
• In the year 1974 in Alaska on April Fool’s Day, a man dragged 70 tires and set them on fire on a dormant volcano. The fumes of the fire were so huge that it made the residents think that the volcano had erupted.  
• Even NASA played along! In the year 2002, NASA released a photoshopped picture of the moon made of cheese, with an expiration date printed on one of its craters.

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• No, not even BBC spares you: In 1976, BBC announced that on that day the gravity of the earth would be reduced by a certain level and that whoever jumps in the air would lightly float in the air! Many who we are sure may not have noticed the date, might have jumped to realize that BBC just made a fool out of you, and personally, I think this was a way cool prank!

• Another one from the house of BBC: In 2008, BBC again telecast news saying penguins in Antarctica started flying. They also said that those penguins had flown to South America’s tropical rainforests. What do you think?
• A travel site once announced to celebrate the day that it’s offering a trip to Mars. Well, what do we say, it is a cool marketing gimmick!
• Some link April Fools' Day to the ancient Roman festival of Hilaria.

   

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