Even more ancient spring shenanigans
Though all three of these potential origin stories of an April 1 holiday are contested, they point to spring as time for good-natured pranks and tricks—and harken back to fun, far older spring rituals. Though it’s unclear if these observations directly inspired the April Fools’ holiday, many ancient and modern spring festivals incorporate deception, disguise, and good-natured jokes. Take ancient Rome, where the festival of Hilaria was celebrated after the vernal equinox to mark the emergence of spring. Though its origins are also obscure, the oldest existing mentions of the holiday date from the third century C.E. The festival was part of a larger event that paid tribute to the fertility goddess Cybele (also known as Magna Mater).
(Why the equinox ushers in the arrival of spring.)
Described by religious historian Jacob Latham as a “masked carnival marked by licentious behavior,” the springtime festival gave those who celebrated a chance to unwind and celebrate with freedom that crossed class barriers. “Anyone can disguise himself as any character he wants,” noted Roman historian Herodian, who added that, “there is no position so important or exclusive that someone cannot disguise himself in that dress and play the fool by concealing his true identity.”
Other “foolish” festivals celebrated in spring include Holi, a Hindu spring festival that takes place in March and includes light-hearted pranks, and Sizdah Bedar, an Iranian festival held 13 days after the vernal equinox (April 2) as part of the festival of Nowruz. It’s a day for harmless lies and fun that feels similar to April Fools’…yet is thought to date as far back as 536 B.C.E.
Will we ever figure out why April 1 became April Fools’ Day? Probably not. As folklorist Alan Dundes wrote in 1988, “More than one hundred years of scholarship has unfortunately added very little to our knowledge and understanding of this curious custom.”
