Unveiling mysteries behind April Fool’s Day

If you are playing the fool on April Fool’s Day then you really should know the theories of its origin; a tradition that goes back hundreds of years, but where did it all start?

Let’s unveil the scores of mind boggling mysteries associated with this day.

The most accepted and evident theory regarding the day’s origin dates back to 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII adopted the Gregorian calendar and moved the start of the year from April to January. But there were many people who failed to pay attention or didn’t get the memo and so celebrated the New Year on April 1 and were ridiculed and seen as foolish – hence Fool's Day.

Another theory links this day with the French Revolution – no I’m not kidding. When King George III joked of stepping down on April 1, peasants began to celebrate their freedom but were arrested and subsequently jailed. His joke continued the tradition to this day.

There is yet another interesting link, according to some religious customs, Noah sent out a dove on April 1 to see if the floodwaters had receded, but they hadn’t.

In Roman mythology, Pluto, the God of the Dead, abducted Proserpina and brought her to live with him in the underworld. Proserpina called to her mother Ceres for help, but she could only hear the echo of her daughter's voice and couldn’t search her. Some say the fruitless search was the basis for the 'fool's errands'.

In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the “Nun’s Priest’s Tale” in which the vain cock is tricked by a fox on “syn March began thritty dayes and two.” Chaucer probably meant 32 days after March - May 2, but many took it to mean March 32 or April 1. It is seen as a reference to April Fool's Day.

Others say the April Fool's Day is left over from the idea of "renewal festivals" marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

In France, on this day people would put paper fish on the 'fool's' backs and were called Poisson d’Avril or April Fish - it's still the term used in country for April Fool's.

Voila! These were all the mysteries behind this day. You all are free to believe in the one you fancy untill then enjoy the day and fool around. Happy April Fish Day!