April 1 Means April Fools' Day

Sunday is , one of those sort of national holidays where people take pleasure in practical jokes and pranks.

So how did the day begin? Before you run around the joking those you love find out more about the day.

The most popular theory is that France changed its calendar in the 1500s so the New Year would begin in January to match the Roman calendar instead of beginning at the start of spring, in late March or early April, according to National Geographic.

Word of the change traveled slowly, and many people in rural areas continued to celebrate the New Year in the spring. These country folk became known as "April fools," according to the report.

But others disagree with this theory, and feel it derived from a love of pranking. Here's a few more facts surrounding the day from Wikipedia:

• 1300's: The earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392).
• No Day Off: It is not a national holiday.
• Prank Until Noon: In some countries such as Canada, New Zealand, the UK, Australia, Cyprus, and South Africa, the jokes only last till noon.
• The April Fool: In those countries someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool" and taunted "April Fool's Day's past and gone, You're the fool for making one.
• April Fish: In France and Italy children traditionally tack paper fish on each other's back as a trick and shout "April fish!"

Did you know there is a place for great pranks? It's called The Museum of Hoaxes, and here some of the jokes listed as the top pranks of all time:

• Nixon for President: On April 1, 1992, broadcast of NPR's "Talk of the Nation" revealed that Richard Nixon was running for president again under a slogan that said, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Listeners to the show were shocked and outraged, but the host later revealed it was just a joke.
• Taco Liberty Bell: On April 1, 1996, Taco Bell Corporation took out an ad in six major newspapers to say that it was buying the Liberty Bell and renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of protesters called in to the National Historic Park in Philadelphia, and were only calmed when it was admitted to be a joke.
• Alabama Changes the Value of Pi: The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Soon the article made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly spread. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation.
• The Left-Handed Whopper: Burger King published a full page ad in the April 1st edition of USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers.
• The Comic Strip Switcheroo—On April 1, 1997, comic strip fans opened their newspapers to find that all the characters had been shuffled around and were popping up in alternate comics. A total of 46 comic strip writers banded together for the switch, which had Scott Adams of "Dilbert" taking over the "Family Circus," and Jim Davis of "Garfield" taking over "Blondie" and making Garfield eat one of Dagwood's sandwiches.

Remember you can like Hazelwood Patch on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HazelwoodPatch. Don't forget to visit Twitter: twitter.com/HazelwoodPatch, or signup for the Hazelwood Patch newsletter here.