April Fools’ Day is celebrated on the 1st of April every year.
It isn’t a national holiday, but it is a time when many people in different countries around the world play practical jokes on each other.
In the UK, an April fool prank is revealed by shouting ‘April fool!’ at the person receiving the joke. This person becomes the ‘April fool’. The word ‘fool’ means ‘a silly or stupid person’, or ‘a person who has been tricked’. Nobody wants to be a fool, so you have to be very careful and a little suspicious on the 1st of April!
One important tradition on April Fools’ Day is that you shouldn’t play a trick on someone after midday. If you do, then you are the fool!
In France, April Fools’ Day is called ‘Poisson d’Avril’ (April fish). Their tradition is to try and stick paper fishes on each other’s back. Any person with a paper fish on his or her back is the ‘April fish’, and they are foolish!
In the UK, the newspapers traditionally print some fake news stories on April Fool’s Day.
Sometimes they are easy to spot, but sometimes people believe that they are true – so it’s important to check the newspaper on the 2nd of April, when they explain which stories were jokes!
_____________________________
Have you ever played a practical joke on someone on April Fools’ Day?
Has anyone ever tried to trick you on April Fools’ Day?
