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April Fool's Day or All Fools' Day is a notable day, though not of its own right a holiday, celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is celebrated by the execution of hoaxes and practical jokes of varying sophistication with the goal of publicly embarrassing the gullible.
The origins of April Fool's Day are unknown, although various theories have been proposed. It is considered to be related to the festival of the vernal equinox, which occurs on March 21. Prior to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1564, it was observed as New Year's Day by cultures as far apart as ancient Rome and India. New Year was originally celebrated from March 25 to April 1, before the Gregorian reforms moved it back to January 1. The English first celebrated the day on a widespread basis only as late as the 18th century17th century 18th century 19th century more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701- 1800; however, historians will sometimes specifically refer to the 18th Century as 1715- 89,, though it appears to have reached England probably from GermanyThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east in the mid- 17th century16th century 17th century 18th century more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601- 1700. During this period, the power of England and the United Provinces increased; while that of. Its first known description in English originates with John AubreyJohn Aubrey ( March 12, 1626 June, 1697) was an English antiquary and writer, best known as the author of a work usually referred to as Brief Lives''. He was born at Maston Pierse or Percy, near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, of a wealthy and famous family of the, who noted in 1686Events The League of Augsburg is founded. Russia, Saxony, Brandenburg and Bavaria join the Holy League against the Ottoman Turkish Empire. September 2 The forces of the Holy League of 1684 liberate Buda from the Ottoman Turkish rule that leads to the end: "Fooles holy day. We observe it on ye first of April. And so it is kept in Germany everywhere."
The custom of playing practical jokes on April Fool's Day is also very widespread and of uncertain origins. The victim of a joke is known in EnglishThe English language is a West Germanic language, originating from England. It is the third most common "first" language (native speakers), with around 402 million people in 2002. English has lingua franca status in many parts of the world, due to the mil as an April Fool; in ScotsScots (or Lallans meaning 'Lowlands'), properly Lowland Scots, is a Germanic language used in Lowland Scotland, as well as parts of Northern Ireland and border areas of the Republic of Ireland, where it is known in official circles as Ulster Scots or Ulla as a gowk (cuckoo or fool); and in FrenchFrench le francais la langue francaise is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered only by Spanish and Portuguese. French is the 11th most spoken language in the world, spoken by about 77 million people (called Francophones) as a mother to as a poisson d'avril (April fish). It has been suggested the custom may have had something to do with the move of the New Year's date, when people who forgot or didn't accept the new date system were given invitations to nonexistent parties, funny gifts, etc. Originally, April Fool's Day jokes concentrated on individuals (sending someone on an absurd errand such as seeking pigeon's milk) but in the 20th century it became common for the media to perpetrate hoaxes on the general population.