April Fools' Day is celebrated in many countries on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when people play practical jokes and hoaxes on each other.
In France and Italy, children and adults traditionally tack paper fishes on each other's back as a trick and shout "April fish!" in their local languages (poisson d'avril! and pesce d'aprile! in French and Italian, respectively). Such fish feature prominently on many French late 19th to early 20th century April Fools' Day postcards.
The earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392). Many writers suggest that the restoration of January 1 as New Year's Day in the 16th century was responsible for the creation of the holiday, but this theory does not explain earlier references.
Read more about April Fools' Day: Origins, Other Prank Days in The World
Famous quotes containing the words april and/or day:
“In April 1917 the illusion of isolation was destroyed, America came to the end of innocence, and of the exuberant freedom of bachelor independence. That the responsibilities of world power have not made us happier is no surprise. To help ourselves manage them, we have replaced the illusion of isolation with a new illusion of omnipotence.”
—Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989)
“On the day when a young writer corrects his first proof-sheet he is as proud as a schoolboy who has just got his first dose of pox.”
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)