KYLE M. JOHNSON
STAFF WRITER

As with many holiday traditions, the trickery that takes place on April Fools’ Day possesses a mysterious origin.

In modern times, many people celebrate the holiday by playing pranks on each other. However, it is widely believed that the committing of jokes didn’t occur until the changing of the calendar.

According to timeanddate.com, when the calendar changed from the Julian to Gregorian calendar in 1582, the New Year holiday changed, as well. The day of celebrations moved from April 2 to Jan. 1.

“Those who failed to keep up with the change and celebrated the New Year during the week that fell between March 25 and April 1 became victims of various jokes,” the article on timeanddate.com states.

The site goes on to share a few theories of the holiday’s origins, which refer to Roman mythology and British folklore.

The Roman myth tells of Proserina being abducted by the god Pluto and Proserina’s mother unsuccessfully trying to find her by following the echo of her voice.

“The fruitless search is believed by some to have inspired the tradition of ‘fool’s errands,’ practical jokes where people are asked to complete an impossible or imaginary task,” timeanddate.com states.

British folklore refers to an event from the 13th century, a time when any road the king stepped foot upon became public property. When the citizens of Gotham heard the king would be coming through their town, they did not allow him to enter.

“When the king heard this, he sent soldiers to the town. But when the soldiers arrived in Gotham, they found the town full of fools engaged in foolish activities such as drowning fish. As a result, the king declared the town too foolish to warrant punishment,” timeanddate.com states.

There are even biblical theories of the origin of April Fools’ Day.

However, according to History.com, historians have traced the holiday back to the Roman festival “Hilaria” in which people dressed up in disguises. This event took place at the end of March.

Another tracing of the holiday’s origin leads to 18th century Britain.

“In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with ‘hunting the gowk,’ in which people were sent on phony errands […] and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people’s derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or ‘kick me’ signs on them,” the article on history.com stated.

There’s also a theory that the holiday exists because of the season’s change from winter to spring, leading people to be fooled by Mother Nature’s unpredictable weather.

While each of these theories serves as a credible possibility for the reason behind the holiday’s themes of prankish trickery, there is no single certain reason for its existence.