April Fools' Day is a day dedicated to harmless lies and pranks, with its origins lost in the depths of history. There are two well-known versions of how this tradition began, along with a third one—which, in the end, turned out to be part of the April Fools' tradition itself.
The first version originates from 16th-century France when King Charles IX changed New Year's Day from April 1st to January 1st. Many people continued to celebrate on the old date and became the target of pranks by those who had adopted the new change, thus creating the tradition of the April Fools' joke.
A second version attributes the origin of the custom to Celtic fishermen. On April 1st, they would begin their summer fishing season, but the weather was often unpredictable, and their catches were poor. To lighten their disappointment, they would tell exaggerated stories about the large fish they had supposedly caught, thus establishing the habit of telling lies on that day.
The third version is related to an April Fools' prank by Professor Joseph Boskin, published by the Associated Press in 1983. According to the story, a group of jesters in the court of Byzantine Emperor Constantine dared to claim that they could govern better than he could. Amused by the challenge, the emperor allowed one of the jesters, named Kugel, to rule for a day. Kugel, in turn, declared April 1st as a day dedicated to laughter and exaggeration. The story was so convincing that many accepted it as true—until it was revealed to be a hoax.
The tradition spread across many European countries and eventually became established in Greece as well, where people enjoy playing harmless pranks and telling little lies. In fact, there is a popular belief that anyone who successfully tricks someone on April Fools' Day will have good luck for the entire year!
Wishing you a wonderful April!
