April Fool’s Day is an age-old event that occurs annually every year in April. Even if you don’t celebrate it, it’s still on the calendar nonetheless. But how did this day of pranks even begin?
This day can be dated back to 1582, when the Council of Trent decided to shift from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar. Since they did not have the kind of technology that we have now, the way that this change got out was strictly from word of mouth.
Many people were unaware of this sudden shift in the calendar. For the Julian calendar, the year begins with the spring equinox on April 1st. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, which starts on January 1st. Since some people did not get the update, many still celebrated the new year from the end of March to April 1st.
These people became teased and butts of jokes. They referred to these people as “April fools”. These people would get pranked with having paper fish attached to their backs, to symbolize being young and gullible.
This is the most popular tale of this holiday and the one that is most shared. Many find this certain history to be mostly speculation. This is mostly because there were so many different cultures celebrating it, no one truly knows the original!
Other than that, the holiday still continues to be celebrated to this day with pranks and jokes. Performed by friends, family, and even companies that decide to participate in these jokes.
Every year, it’s fun to participate in some light-hearted fun with the people you love. It could be an opportunity to bond with people over a laugh.
Some companies like to take this holiday more seriously. With the best of their graphic designers and persuasive ads, they can convince the public of something that isn’t true.
For example, Olipop has Ranch-themed drinks, KFC x hismile chicken toothpaste, Reese’s bread, Heinz Dubai beans, and Chick-fil-a pickle lemonade.
Last year, Buildabear decided to design an ‘Emo Axo”, which was a dark aesthetic axolotl that they published on their Instagram page. Originally, as a joke, they saw the number of people who were genuinely interested in the product.
They decided to take action and actually make more for the actual purchase. Something that was intended for a quick giggle turned out to be more of a success than many people bought into.
So this holiday can turn into opportunities and ways to expand horizons. Not only is history funny, but so is the present.
