It’s easily one of the most unlikely nationally recognized holidays that appears on the calendar each year. Meanwhile others suggest it’s one of the oldest – going back to Genesis!

This upcoming Tuesday is April first – or April Fools’ Day. And while we’re pretty sure it isn’t really a Biblical holiday, it is interesting to look at the many tangled roots of this fun, notable date on the calendar.

The Ark & the Covenant

One of the more unusual sources for the origins of April Fools’ merriment is from an 1895 book, quoting an article from 1789.

“Humorous Jewish Origin of the Custom of Making Fools on the First of April. — This is said to have begun from the mistake of Noah in sending the Dove out of the Ark before the water had abated, on the first day of the month among the Hebrews, which answers to the 1st of April.”

Then the description gets even weirder, but mentions the day is remembered by sending someone on a pointless errand. We don’t know if the dove was sent out on April 1^st – or even which dove, since Noah sends a raven and two doves. Jewish scholars will tell you the way Genesis 8 is written, it is meant to echo the creation story in Genesis 2, so coining it a Biblical fool’s errand is rather unlikely.

Holi and Hilaria(s)

In India and Nepal, there is a spring festival where people throw colors on each other – colored water and colored powder – marking folks with bright colors. Similar to the premise of The Purge movies, Holi is the day when you can do just about anything, and the usual rankings of caste, gender, status, and age are thrown out for 24 hours.

Afterwards, everyone cleans up and enjoys food with their friends, teachers, and relatives, as the ordered patterns of society are reasserted and renewed. But on the full-moon day of Phalguna, everyone is a fool for the day.

Under the reign of Emperor Claudius, many Romans – always happy to find a new feast day – celebrated Hilaria on the 25^th of March. The citizens reveled in masquerades, games in the streets, and making fun of friends and family – even their usually unassailable elders.

The Calendar Wars

One popular theory on the founding of April Fools’ Day comes from the changing of the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar we still use today. As you might recall, the new calendar skipped over several days when it was first introduced, to align with the earth’s rotation around the sun and subsequent seasons. It also reset the beginning of the year.

Well, the story goes that not everyone in France got the memo (in fact, it took nearly 400 years for everyone to change over). In 1583, the new year in France start on January 1, not April 1 as in previous years. The people who waited and had their New Year’s bash on April 1^st were referred to as April fools.

It became common practice to play tricks, set up elaborate hoaxes and even put paper fishes on people’s backs. It might seem like the joke’s on them, but it’s meant to signify a “poisson d’avril,” an easily caught (or duped) fish or gullible person.

Practical Pranks

Over the years, it’s become harder and harder for skilled pranksters to pull one over on unsuspecting people. The key is to hit them early – very early – before they realize what day it is.

Two somewhat famous pranks over the years included the announcement that Big Ben was going digital and the Boston volcano. In 2016, one prank was believable enough to make people unsure. A popular sculpture garden sent out a press release begging people not to take cellphone photos of its statues because the light emitted would damage and erode them.

These days, a lot of companies just have fun with it. It’s like mattress sales on President’s Day – an opportunity to fill customers’ inboxes with a humorous, but ultimately false, email that does no harm.

Proper pest protection, however, is no joke. While we don’t see the same seasons as our northern neighbors, spring has sprung, and the rainy season is on the horizon. Now is the time to invest in our Go Green Perimeter Plus solution that kicks the usual creepy crawlies out of your house and seals the entry points so they can’t come back. Plus, it’s affordable and safe for your whole family. To get started, just give us a call!