[00:11.24]While popular in the U.S., the April Fool’s Day tradition is even more prevalent in European countries,
[00:17.68]such as France and Great Britain. Although the roots of the traditional trickings are unclear,
[00:24.42]the French and the British both have claims on the origin of the celebration.
[00:29.72]One theory holds that the first April Fool’s Day was on April 1 of the year when King of France instituted the new calendar.
[00:38.59]This new system placed the day that had formerly been the first day of a new year on April 1.
[00:45.77]Many people were reluctant to adjust to the new calandar and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on what had become the first day of April.
[00:54.36]Thus, they become the first April fools.
[00:58.12]Others began to give gag gifts on the day to mock the foolishness of those
[01:02.32]who continued to celebrate the new year on April 1.
[01:06.80]An English story about the day, however, holds that it began sometime during the 1200s.
[01:13.45]At the time, King John of England was in the habit of making a road out of nearly every path he walked regularly.
[01:21.04]The citizens of one particular farm village were aware of this.
[01:25.41]To avoid having their green meadows and pastures disturbed with one of the king’s roads,
[01:30.73]they built a fence that prevented the king from walking through their countryside.
[01:35.35]The king sent a group of messengers to inform the villagers that they must remove the barrier.
[01:41.48]Upon hearing that the king was planning to do this, however, the villagers developed a plan of their own.
[01:48.20]When the messengers arrived, they found what appeared to be a community of lunatics,
[01:53.50]with people behaving in a bizarre manner, throwing things and running around wildly.
[01:59.32]The messengers, alarmed at what they had found,
[02:02.52]reported to king John that these people were so mad as to be beyond punishment.
[02:07.86]So, the villagers saved their farmland by tricking the King. In Great Britain,
[02:13.14]tradition only allows April Fool’s tricks from midnight to noon on April 1.
[02:18.92]Those who try to play tricks in the afternoon become the fools themselves.
