I’ve spent some time thinking about an appropriate April Fools’ Day joke for today’s newsletter, bouncing ideas off my colleagues…and what I’ve realized (much to their relief) is that there was no truly professional way to do it. We won’t do you dirty like that. So instead, I found myself down an internet rabbit hole researching the origins of the holiday, which are surprisingly unknown for such a widely celebrated day.
While there are a few different theories, no one seems to totally agree on which one is the real origin. Disappointing, I know, but it doesn’t make the theories any less entertaining.
From what I read, one of the most popular theories goes all the way back to the 1500s when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar and moved New Year’s Day from late March to January 1st. Apparently, some people either didn’t get the memo or refused to change, and other people started making fun of them for celebrating the new year at the end of March and early April. Those people were called “April fools” (or “Poisson d’Avril” in France, which translates to “April fish.”) On April 1st, people in France still celebrate the day by taping paper fish onto their targets’ backs and waiting until they notice (the longer it takes the better) before yelling “Poisson d’Avril”. According to the internet, that tradition is alive and well. Why bring fish into the equation? That’s a whole other deep dive, but for the sake of this article I’ll stick with my favorite theory, which is that fish are an easy catch when it comes to hunting and those gullible enough to be pranked could be deemed an easy target.
Another theory I read was that it might be tied to an ancient Roman festival called Hilaria. People would dress up, play games, make fun of each other and basically have a day where normal rules didn’t apply.
There’s also a theory that it comes from the start of spring, when the weather plays tricks on us by changing every five minutes. This one feels particularly on-point as I sit in my long down coat remembering the shorts I wore 3 weeks ago.
Regardless of where it started, April Fools’ Day has given us some pretty legendary pranks over the years. One of my favorites is when the BBC did a completely serious news segment in the 1950s about Swiss farmers harvesting spaghetti from trees, and people actually called in asking how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. Another famous one was when Taco Bell announced they had purchased the Liberty Bell and were renaming it the “Taco Liberty Bell.” People were not amused… which somehow makes it funnier.
I think the key to April Fools’ Day is that the best pranks are harmless ones, like telling someone there’s a meeting that got moved or that the coffee machine is broken. Nothing that ruins someone’s day, just enough to keep people on their toes. Did any of you find yourself playing the fool today? We’d love to hear of some good pranks to add to next year’s idea board. Bonus points if you have a Finance-related one that can be used in a client-facing newsletter!
While it’s all in good fun, I still hope you’ve had a relatively uneventful day and that you’re unofficially in the clear now that it’s past 5pm.
