On April 1 every year, millions of people relish in the opportunity to pull harmless pranks and practical jokes. But how did the holiday emerge?
Though April Fools’ Day is widely celebrated throughout the English-speaking world, historians haven’t yet pinned down a definitive date or time for its emergence. Though it’s clear the holiday has existed in some form since at least the 1500s, competing theories attribute the holiday to medieval England or more modern France. Others insist the holiday is rooted in even older celebrations of spring in ancient Rome and elsewhere. Here’s why the holiday remains a merry mystery despite competing theories on its origins.
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