APRIL FOOLS DAY

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The exact origins of April Fools Day are a mystery, but we do know this holiday has been celebrated on April 1st for centuries. It’s all in good fun as long as no one gets hurt. The first of April is set aside for playing jokes, hoaxes, and pranks.

Some historians think April Fools Day is linked to when France switched from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar. With the Julian Calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox near the first of April.

News traveled slowly, and others refused to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1. They continued to celebrate the new year the last week of March through April 1. This caused them to become the butt of jokes and hoaxes. They were often called “April fools.” 

You can learn more about the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar in the post: THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR HISTORY

Famous April Fools Day Pranks

In 1957 the BBC showed Swiss farmers harvesting spaghetti noodles from trees due to their “record spaghetti crop”. Like money, spaghetti does not grow on trees.  

Sports Illustrated ran a story in 1985 about a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch. His fastball was clocked at over 168 MPH. The joke was there was no rookie pitcher.

Burger King advertised a “left-handed Whopper” that customers actually came in and ordered in 1998. You can pick up your burger with either hand. Or your feet if you’d like.

Some easy April Fools Pranks you can play on Your Kids

• Move the furniture around while they are asleep, then act like nothing is different
• Print this word search of Poetry terms (there are no poetry terms)
• Color the milk with a few drops of food coloring
• Create a piece of cake out of a sponge. Just frost and sprinkle the sponges!
• Change the color of your tap water easily by unscrewing the faucet cap and putting a tablet used for dying Easter eggs. Then replace the cap. You can get a similar effect by swabbing the inside of the faucet with food coloring. When your kids turn on the water to wash their hands or brush their teeth the sink will turn a fun color!

Books to help you celebrate April Fools Day:

April Foolishness by Teresa Bateman

Laughs & Giggles: Funny April Fools’ Day Jokes for Kids

Rainbow Magic Special Edition: Addison the April Fool’s Day Fairy

Can’t celebrate this year – Mark your calendar & save this holiday for next year!

You can also pin the image below to your Pinterest boards to save this fantastic holiday!