April 1 is internationally known as April Fools’ Day, a day filled to the brim with jokes and pranks galore. However, the website for the Museum of Hoaxes states that there are no detailed references to the holiday mentioned until the eighteenth century, and by that time it had already become a European tradition. The exact origins of April Fools’ Day are hazy, and numerous theories have emerged over time suggesting how the day came to be.

According to Graeme Stemp-Morlock for NationalGeographic.com, many believe that April Fools’ Day began in the 1500s when France changed its calendar so the New Year took place in January to match up with the Roman’s calendar. Prior to that, France’s New Year took place during the last week of March, ending on the first of April. However, communication was very slow during that time, so those who resided in rural areas did not get the news. They continued to celebrate the New Year at the beginning of spring, and others began to refer to them as the “April fools.”

However, Stemp-Morlock reports that Alex Boese, curator of the Museum of Hoaxes in San Diego, California, criticizes the theory. According to Boese, the French New Year is associated with Easter, not the beginning of April. The website for the Museum of Hoaxes supports this criticism by stating that it was actually the British who celebrated New Years the week of March 25 to April 1, ending with a festival filled with jokes and trickery. So, if the calendar change theory were true, it would be because of the British, not the French. Boese actually believes that April Fools is rooted in old European spring festivals that were commonly filled with trickery and pranks.

Reports on the website Museumofhoaxes.com explain several different theories that are rumored to be the roots of April Fools’ Day.  One theory is rooted in a historical event in 1572 when the Dutch rebels captured the town of Den Briel on April 1 from the Spanish, who controlled the Netherlands at that time. There was a rhyme mocking the Spanish commander that he “lost his glasses.” April 1 then became a day to celebrate the humiliating defeat of the Dutch over the Spanish by humiliating others.

Another theory suggests that the holiday comes from Germany in 1530. In the town of Augsburg, people made bets on the occurrence of a meeting of lawmakers on April 1. If the meeting did not take place, those who lost the bet were mocked, leading to the tradition of playing pranks and mocking others on April 1.

The final theory the website presents is from a British fable. According the fable, around 1200, if the King stepped onto a road, it would become public property. So, when King John was heading towards the town of Gotham, the townspeople refused to give him entry. Furious, King John sent his soldiers to the town, but before the arrival of the soldiers, the people of Gotham had devised a plan to make the King believe they were insane. Upon arrival, the soldiers saw the people of Gotham parading around like lunatics, performing foolish activities. Falling for their trick, the King declared the town too senseless for punishment. April Fools’ Day was then created in order to memorialize the town’s trickery by tricking others.

April Fools’ origin, if it truly has one, may never be known, but perhaps that is the greatest trick of all.