Origins of April Fool's Day

The custom of setting aside a day for the playing of harmless pranks upon one's neighbor is recognized everywhere.[1] Some precursors of April Fools' Day include the Roman festival of Hilaria,[2] the Holi festival of India,[3] and the Medieval Feast of Fools.[4]

In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392), the "Nun's Priest's Tale" is set Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two.[5] Modern scholars believe that there is a copying error in the extant manuscripts and that Chaucer actually wrote, Syn March was gon.[6] Thus the passage originally meant 32 days after March, i.e. 2 May,[7] the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, which took place in 1381. Readers apparently misunderstood this line to mean "32 March", i.e. 1 April.[8] In Chaucer's tale, the vain cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox.

In 1508, French poet Eloy d'Amerval referred to a poisson d’avril (April fool, literally "April fish"), a possible reference to the holiday.[9] In 1539, Flemish poet Eduard de Dene wrote of a nobleman who sent his servants on foolish errands on 1 April.[7] In 1686, John Aubrey referred to the holiday as "Fooles holy day", the first British reference.[7] On 1 April 1698, several people were tricked into going to the Tower of London to "see the Lions washed".[7]

In the Middle Ages, New Year's Day was celebrated on 25 March in most European towns.[10] In some areas of France, New Year's was a week-long holiday ending on 1 April.[2][4] Some writers suggest that April Fools' originated because those who celebrated on 1 January made fun of those who celebrated on other dates.[2] The use of 1 January as New Year's Day was common in France by the mid-16th century,[7] and this date was adopted officially in 1564 by the Edict of Roussillon.