The first day of April has been widely known as April Fool’s Day for hundreds of years. We all know that April 1^st is a day of playing jokes and pranks on friends and other unsuspecting victims, but when and where did this tradition start?

Though it is not fully understood, most historians believe it started in France in around 1582 when King Charles the fourth introduced a new calendar that moved New Year’s Day from April 1^st to January 1^st.

News of this new calendar spread slowly through Europe and most of its citizens didn’t know about the change. Every April 1^st, the people who did know would play pranks on those who didn’t, inviting them to non-existent New Years parties or sending them on a fool’s errand (a search for something that isn’t real, like a dozen monkey eggs.) Those who were tricked were known as an April fool.

The good news is, this tradition only lasts for one day. So, you don’t have to be suspicious of your friends for too long. If someone plays a trick on you after April 1^st, you simply say to them, “April Fool is dead and gone. You’re a fool to carry it on!”

Happy April 1^st!