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Issue 1
September 27th, 2019
April fools get fooled
SAT. | 04-03-21 | OPINION
Each year, as the last days of March roll around, I begin looking forward to one of my favorite holidays: April Fools' Day. Every year on Apr. 1, many people forget about the holiday that gives me permission to pull a funny prank on our friends and family. April Fools’ Day is not a holiday where you give or receive gifts; if you are not careful, you might end up getting tricked.
Historians have tried to figure out when April Fools’ began and the reasoning behind it. One theory people believe is that April Fools started in 1582 when the Julian calendar that was used in France was switched to the Gregorian Calendar. Many people who were unaware of the change still believed the start of the new year was still Apr. 1 when the actual start of the new year had been changed to Jan. 1. People who continued to celebrate the new year on Apr. 1 were made fun of and called fools. Eventually this day turned into a day full of impractical jokes and hoaxes that we call April Fools’ day. Although there is really no way to prove that theory true, it is my personal favorite way to believe the way my favorite holiday began.
On Dec. 28 in Mexico, they spent the day pulling tricks and pranks similar to April Fools’. In Scotland, April Fool’s is two days of practical jokes, and the second one is specifically for pranks such as the classic “kick me” sign on your back. Even though April Fool's is not celebrated everywhere, many places around the world devote their own days to
Graphic by Mckinsey Burt
encourage silly, playful tricks and pranks.
I especially love this holiday because it gives me an excuse to pull pranks on my brother without getting in trouble. Although, I'm not the only one in my family who likes to pull tricks on April Fools’. One of the best pranks my mom pulled on my little brother and me was during spring break when we were visiting Florida to go to Disney World. So caught up in the vacation, my brother and I completely forgot it was April Fools’. My mom used this to her advantage when planning her trick. We were supposed to leave Apr. 1 to go home, and so our parents had us pack all our stuff and put everything on a luggage cart. We were about to take all of our stuff out to the car, when my mom asked us what day it was. When we figured out it was April Fools’ my parents proceeded to tell us they tricked us and that we were staying another day. We were so excited that we were not going home. This is my favorite trick they used on us because it ended up giving me an extra day in Disney, but I did not appreciate having to repack the car a day later.
April Fools’ day is more than just a day full of impractical jokes to me. I know I am not alone when I say that life can be stressful and sometimes I get so caught up in my routine and schedule that I forget to relax and have a good laugh. April Fools’ day reminds me that I don’t have to be so serious all the time and to enjoy the little things in life that make me happy. Many studies even show that laughing can have good long term effects on your body such as improving your immune system and relieving pain.
One of the best things about April Fool’s Day is that your imagination is the limit and the pranks can be as extreme or as mild as you choose. Some of the most classic and widely used April Fool’s pranks include fake lottery tickets, saran wrap over the toilet, flour in the hairdryer and covering someone's car with sticky notes. Before you pull a prank you wanna make sure your victim won’t get too angry with you.
