April Fool’s Day

Celebrated for centuries by different cultures, the origin of April Fool’s Day is unknown though it is speculated to date back to 1582 when France changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. In the Julian calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year begins with the spring equinox around 1st April. Those who continued to celebrate the ‘new year’ during the last week of March through 1st April are said to have become the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called April fools. These days, April Fool’s Day involves playing hoaxes or practical jokes on others. Some hoaxes have reached global acclaim, including the BBC’s 1957 Swiss Spaghetti Harvest, Dick Smith’s 1978 Sydney Iceberg and the 1987 Thatcher-Gorbachev Romance.

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/april-fools-day