When And Why Did April Fool’s Day Begin?

The first of April is a dreaded day for many journalists. Our inboxes become rammed with suspicious press releases and eyebrow-raising anecdotes (and yes, these have been published as fact by some outlets in the past).

It seems we’re not the holiday’s only haters. Slate called April Fools “universally either hated or ignored”; a YouGov poll found that about half of respondents found the day annoying.

But why did it start in the first place?

We’re not actually sure. But there are three leading theories:

Some think April Fool’s Day dates to 1564 in France, when King Charles IX moved the official start of the year from Easter to January 1. Prior to this edict, most Christian countries’ calendar began from the movable date.

The date on which Easter falls is determined by the moon rather than preset schedules, but it usually falls in April. Those who clung to the old ways may have been called “April Fools”.

Another theory, also from France, suggests the tradition could come from the April 1 holiday of Poisson d’Avril (“April fish”). This centuries-old celebration now involves sticking a paper fish to people’s backs without them noticing and shouting “April fish” once they’ve been fooled.

A French poem dating to 1508 mentions an “April fish,” which might suggest that something similar to the trick has been happening for hundreds of years.

Then, there’s the English theory. A legend about King John says that when he tried to nab some of the land for Gotham in Nottinghamshire, the local residents came up with a plan to keep him out.

They played the “fool” when the king’s scouts came ahead of him to check the area out, pretending to do strange things like drowning fish to ensure the reports wouldn’t entice the King to stay.

But the event would have happened in the 13th century, while the first written reference to April fool’s day in the UK didn’t happen ’til 1686.