April Fools' Day: The best gags, the worst lies, and the history of prank season
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Though many holidays have cloudy origins, the history of April Fools’ Day is particularly blurry. Several competing claims for the day’s invention exist; some see the holiday’s sources in a storybook, while others consider it an evolution of joy by way of the springtime harvest.
One possible precedent is in the Greco-Roman festival Hilaria, a time which was celebrated on March 25. The festival honoured Cybele, an ancient Greek Mother of Gods, and its celebrations included parades, masquerades and jokes to celebrate the first day after the vernal equinox.
