Here are some explanations of how April Fool's Day began:

     One theory is that April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day could have started because of a change of calendar dates.
     Originally April 1 was the start of the New Year for many cultures.

     In 1562, however, Pope Gregory created a new calendar for the Christian world where New Year's Day was  now January 1. In France and other places there were people who did not believe the change in date so they continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Other people thought they were foolish and played jokes on them such as making them believe that something false was true.

     Another idea of how April Fool's Day began is that it is related to the festival of the vernal (spring) equinox  where  the days and nights are of equal length. This festival usually happens around March 21 (in the Northern Hemisphere.)

     In France today, April 1 is called "Poisson d'Avril." French children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' backs. When the "young fool" discovers this trick, the prankster yells "Poisson d'Avril!" (April Fish!). April   Fool's Day became popular in England and Scotland during the 18th century. It arrived in America at a later date  with the arrival of immigrants.

     In the past newspapers and television stations have played April Fool's jokes on the public. For example, in the 1950s a British short film shown on April Fool's Day was all about "spaghetti farmers" and how they collected spaghetti from spaghetti trees. Today many newspapers all over the world try to make up false stories on April Fool's day.

     In some countries, practical jokes are meant to finish at 12:00 p.m. (lunchtime) but in other countries practical jokes are played for the whole day. April Fool jokes are meant to be fun and are not meant to harm anyone.