#FunFactFriday – What is April Fools’ Day

As March comes to an end and we’ve marked the one-year anniversary working from home, that also mean April Fools’ Day is on the horizon.

Every year, we anticipate April Fools’ pranks from our friends, family and even our favorite brands. Some pranks go down as the best in history, while others leave brands in need of a crisis communication plan.

But where did this day of pranks come from? Let’s take a look back in time.

According to History, some historians believe that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1852 when France decided to change their calendar and moved New Year’s Day from April 1 to January 1. People who were slow to hear about the change or failed to recognize it were called “April Fools.” These “April Fools” became the recipients of jokes and pranks including sticking paper fish to their backs and being referred to as “poisson d’avril” (April fish), which symbolized a young, easily caught fish or a gullible person.

Perhaps France could have benefitted from a strategic communication plan from their local PR firm to ensure that the news of their calendar changed reached their audience.