April Fools' Day

"April Fool" and "Fool's Day" redirect here. For other uses, see April Fool (disambiguation), April Fool's Day (disambiguation), and Fool's Day (disambiguation).
For April Fool's Day activities on Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:April Fool's Day.

April Fools' Day
An April Fools' Day prank marking the construction of the Copenhagen Metro in 2001
Also calledApril Fool's Day
TypeCultural, Western
SignificancePractical jokes, pranks
ObservancesComedy
Date1 April
Next time1 April 2025 (2025-04-01)
FrequencyAnnual
An 1857 ticket to "Washing the Lions" at the Tower of London. No such event ever took place.

April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day[1] is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved with these pranks, which may be revealed as such the following day. The custom of setting aside a day for playing harmless pranks upon one's neighbour has been relatively common in the world historically.[2]

  1. ^ "April Fools' Day". Britannica. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  2. ^ McDonald, Bertha R. (7 March 1908). "The Oldest Custom in the World". Harper's Weekly. Vol. 52, no. 2672. p. 26. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2020.