By Andy Han ‘26

A paper fish clings to your back, and people are laughing; though you don’t yet know why, you will soon. In French, April Fool’s Day is referred to as Poisson d'Avril, or “April fish,” which alludes to the young, easily caught fish that are abundant at the beginning of the fishing season in April. To be an “April fool” is to take the bait, which may have been as simple as a changed date in the calendar.

The most common origin story for April Fool’s Day is from France. The Edict of Roussillon of 1564, signed by King Charles IX, declared that the new year would begin on January 1 rather than on Easter, the latter being the tradition in much of Christian Europe. Those who still celebrated New Year’s on Easter were deemed “April fools” and became the butt of many a practical joke.

Another proposed origin of April Fool’s Day also dates to France in 1582, when the Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar as ordained by Pope Gregory XIII, which is now used as the standard for timekeeping in most of the world. Both the Julian and Hindu calendars began the new year on April 1, while the Gregorian calendar began on January 1. Those who followed the old ways were subject to pranks or had paper fish stuck onto them.

There is, however, a more esoteric origin story dating back to the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine. According to the story, a band of fools convinced Emperor Constantine to make one of them king for a day, and thus, a jester named Kugel was to take his place. His first decree as emperor was to dedicate the whole day to frivolity, thereby creating April Fool’s Day.

While the story is by far the most intriguing of the three theories, it’s also fake. In fact, the story had been an April Fool’s Day joke by Boston University professor Joseph Boskin, who had created the story in 1983 to prank a pushy Associated Press reporter who was curious about the origins of the holiday. Boskin created the character of Kugel by naming him after the Jewish noodle casserole of the same name, a favorite dish of one of his closest friends.

But a successful April Fool’s prank does not have to come from a trusted individual; it can just as easily come from a trusted institution, such as a mass media outlet.

In 1957, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a television segment that showed what appeared to be a “spaghetti harvest” in Switzerland. The broadcast showed people pulling strands of cooked spaghetti from trees while a serious narrator explained that a “mild winter” and “virtual disappearance of the spaghetti weevil” led to an especially bountiful harvest.

*A woman harvesting spaghetti trees. Courtesy of* *BBC*.

The prank was convincing enough that hundreds of viewers called in the next day with questions regarding spaghetti cultivation. Despite the seemingly unbelievable nature of the prank, pasta was not a common food in Britain at the time and was regarded as an exotic delicacy, unfamiliar to audiences at home. In response to these pressing inquiries, the BBC recommended that viewers “insert a sprig of spaghetti into a can of tomato sauce and wait for the best outcome.”

The BBC would continue with its antics in the following decades. In 1980, the BBC World Service announced that the Great Clock of Westminster, or Big Ben, would be going digital and would now be known as “Digital Dave.” Electronic beeps, it claimed, would replace the clangs of the 13.7-ton great bell.

Funnily enough, not everyone realized it was an April Fool’s prank and was outraged that such a historically and culturally significant landmark was to be defaced. The BBC had to immediately clarify that Big Ben would remain unchanged and that it had all been an elaborate April Fool’s ruse. The prank had largely flopped, and the BBC would then spend the following weeks apologizing to listeners who had taken the joke seriously.

Though these pranks happened decades ago, the basic appeal of April Fool’s Day has remained constant. Kai Wolahan ‘26 described it as “a very light-hearted, just kind of fun, unserious holiday” that offers “a break from regular life,” while Karen Heredia ‘26 said she enjoyed the “small, harmless pranks that are really nice.” April Fool’s Day, like Kugel’s decree, is simply about amusement.

However, these pranks are not amusing simply because they are absurd but because they are believable enough to work. Regarding the relationship between the prankster and prankee, Wolahan commented, “I think what works best is usually someone close,” since there’s a higher baseline of trust. Heredia suggested people to “just gaslight” and “be so stone-faced” to improve believability.

April Fool’s Day, or one of the many names it goes by in different countries—Huntigowk Day in Scotland, Sizdah Be-dar in Iran, or Día de los Santos Inocentes in Spain—ultimately remains the same across cultures, customs, and centuries. At its core, the holiday is a testament to our willingness to trust blindly and our willingness to laugh once we realize we’ve taken the bait.

Centuries of foolishness