The first of April is celebrated all over the world as a day to have light-hearted fun by playing pranks on others and basically enjoying ourselves. There are many different explanations about its origin, all or none of which may be true, but let’s look into it to understand why it’s called April Fools' Day, and also All Fools' Day.

One of the most believed upon explanations is that it started due to the shifting of the ancient New Year’s Day, celebrated according to the Julian calendar on April 1, to January 1, by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. That year the French are said to have adopted the new Gregorian calendar and shifted the New Year day to January 1. However, there were many people who didn’t readily accept this and some didn’t learn about it due to poor means of communication in those days. They continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1 and were made fun of by those who had adopted this change.

Another explanation is that according to the early Roman calendar, April 1 was considered the first day of spring and in many other cultures this day was considered to mark the renewal of life. There were many ancient customs and rites observed on this day. After the Christians came into power in the Roman empire, they replaced the spring festival with Easter and people who still followed ancient rituals were either punished or made fun of, and old traditions were ridiculed.

It is interesting to note that around this day, there are many traditions observed in different parts of the world that have something to do with rejoicing and having fun. For instance, the Hindus celebrate Holi around this time, in which they play with colours and indulge in a lot of playful fun.

The ancient Romans had the Hilaria festival celebrated on March 25 and the Jewish calendar has Purim. But basically it is the revival of life on earth, when the cold dead winter turns into colourful and youthful spring that makes people get into the mood for some fun and games. And by observing April Fools’ Day on April 1, they attempt to do just that.

So whichever explanation you may believe in, if you do wish to have some fun on April 1, just make sure that it is of the harmless kind and no one gets offended. And if you feel someone doesn’t believe you can have fun on their expense just because it is April 1, then don’t mess with them. After all, you really don’t have to do what the rest of the world is doing, just do what you feel is right.

— Naveed Fayyaz