History brought us a day of fun

In this modern day and age, April Fools’ Day is a day for laughter, jokes, tricks, and pranks that would make the Weasley twins proud. Children dedicate themselves to harmless pranks on friends, teachers, and family members. Newspapers print bizarre, eye-catching headlines. Companies publicly announce the most random orders of business. A noteworthy example of this took place on April 1, 1996, when Taco Bell convinced Americans that they had bought the Liberty Bell.

Also, if your birthday is on April 1, happy birthday! You happen to share a birthday with famous celebrities like Logan Paul, Randy Orton, Asa Butterfield, Debbie Reynolds, Troy Baker, and Kip Moore. Most importantly, Fred and George Weasley, for you Potterheads.

On a different note, it is not exactly known when and how the April Fools’ Day we know and love came to be. Some believe that it dates to when the French switched from using the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in the 1500s. The year would start on January 1 instead of April 1. However, the transition was slow so people would be called “April Fools” for still celebrating the New Year on April 1.

“There’s speculation that April Fools’ Day was tied to the vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather.” (https://bit.ly/3eCnAkz) Not only that, but historians have also linked April Fools’ Day to Hilaria, a Roman festival celebrating Cybele at the end of March. Her followers celebrated by dressing up and mocking others.