April 1 — Day of Laughter: the story of the most fun holiday

Every year on April 1, many countries, including Russia, celebrate April Fool's Day or April Fool's Day, an unofficial holiday of humor during which it is customary to make good jokes about friends. In 2025, it falls on a Tuesday. Read about how the tradition of playing pranks on others appeared and how the British media convinced thousands of people that spaghetti grows on trees.

April 1, 2025 — the story of the Day of Laughter

Many countries call themselves the birthplace of the Day of Laughter. The Irish consider this holiday Celtic, the Hindus associate it with the spring festival of Holi, and the Germans refer to the proverbs about the deceptive April weather. Nevertheless, there is no single version regarding the origin of the holiday. Some researchers believe that it originated in ancient Rome on the basis of a celebration in honor of the god of laughter, which took place at the end of February.

Others believe that the tradition of joking on April 1st is connected with the folk spring celebrations that were common in different regions of Europe. After a long winter, the return of warmth was greeted with festivities, which were accompanied by ritual chaos. For a short period of time, all social norms were rejected: servants became masters, people put on masks of animals or monsters, they were allowed to lie, pretend, and arrange minor pranks. The conflicts that arose in the process were smoothed out with jokes and general laughter. Thus, through the destruction and restoration of order, the renewal that spring brought with it was proclaimed.

The first documented mentions of April Fools' pranks date back to the 16th century. So, in a poem written in 1508 by the French poet Eloy d'Amerval, there is a line about a certain "April fish". In modern France, this is the name given to a person who believed in a joke on a Day of Laughter. However, it cannot be argued that the author used this phrase precisely in this sense.

A more precise indication is contained in the work of the Flemish writer Edouard de Dene. In 1561, he published a poem about a nobleman who wanted to make fun of a servant on April 1 by sending him on absurd errands, but he quickly saw through the trick.

The most popular theory is that the Day of Laughter appeared as a result of the reform of the French calendar. In 1564, King Charles IX issued the Edict of Roussillon, which established a single New Year's Date for the whole country — January 1. However, some citizens continued to celebrate it on the old dates from March 25 to April 1. Supporters of the reform began to make fun of such people, imperceptibly pasting paper fish on their backs. Over time, practical jokes have become a tradition.

In Russia, Laughter Day began to be celebrated during the time of Peter the Great, who was famous for his love of jokes. In addition, the tsar often communicated with foreigners, from whom he probably learned about the April Fools' hoaxes.

There is a semi-legendary story about how one day on April 1 in St. Petersburg, visiting artists announced an unprecedented performance. Many citizens came to see it, and Peter I was sitting in the hall. When the curtain was lifted, the audience saw an empty stage with a large poster "April Fool's Day — don't trust anyone!" The tsar only laughed at this, calling the incident the freedom of the comedians.

Catherine I also had a peculiar sense of humor. In April 1725, Petersburgers were awakened by the sound of an alarm bell, usually announcing a fire. People ran out into the streets, but they did not see the fire — it was a joke from the empress.

Already in the 19th century, April Fools' pranks became part of Russian culture. The poet Alexander Pushkin mentioned the happy date in a letter to his friend Anton Delvig, and in 1846, writers Fyodor Dostoevsky and Nikolai Nekrasov published the comic almanac April Fool's Day.

Traditions for the Day of Laughter

In the modern world, the Day of Laughter is celebrated in many European and in some Eastern countries. The main tradition of the holiday is jokes and practical jokes, in which not only ordinary people are happy to participate, but also the media, bloggers, large and small companies, musicians, artists, writers, and game developers.

Every year on April 1, social networks and websites change their design to amuse users, newspapers and magazines publish humorous articles, and acquaintances exchange fictional news. At the same time, each country has its own ways to cheer up yourself and others. So, the French attach paper fish to each other's backs, the British joke only until noon so as not to incur setbacks, in the USA they make a rating of the stupidest people in the country, and in Russia they say: "Your back is white."

April 1st sweepstakes

One of the most famous April Fool's jokes was staged in 1957 by the BBC. In one of the newscasts, she showed a story about a rich spaghetti harvest in Switzerland. The loud statements were supported by footage of peasants allegedly tearing pasta from trees. After that, the BBC studio received thousands of calls from viewers who wanted to know where to get the seedlings of the miracle tree and how to take care of it.

In 1962, the Swedish TV company SVT shared with viewers an instant way to turn a black-and-white TV into a color one. According to presenter Kjell Stensson, for this it was necessary to pull a nylon stocking over the screen. The fabric will supposedly cause the light to be distorted in a certain way and add color to the image. Naturally, the life hack did not work, and real color broadcasting appeared in the country only in 1970.

In 1988, Izvestia reported that Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona was negotiating a transfer to Spartak and the Soviet club was ready to offer him $6 million. The next day, the newspaper explained that the article was an April Fool's joke, but the "news" had already been picked up by foreign media, including the Associated Press.

In 1998, Burger King published an advertisement for a new burger for lefties in USA Today. The material specified that it would contain the same ingredients as in the classic version, but for the convenience of customers, they would be rotated 180 degrees. The next day, a press release was released explaining that the message was a joke. Nevertheless, thousands of Americans came to the restaurant and asked for a "left-handed" version of the product.

Earlier, Izvestia reported on the history and traditions of the International Day of Happiness.