What date is April Fools' Day celebrated?

April Fools' Day is celebrated on April 1.

The day is an annual tradition of practical jokes, hoaxes, and playful deception observed in many Western countries. A prankster may reveal the joke by calling the target an “April fool.” Newspapers, broadcasters, companies, and websites also participate by publishing deliberately misleading stories.

The celebration’s exact origin is uncertain. One often-repeated theory connects it with calendar changes in France, where New Year’s Day was officially moved to January 1 in 1564; however, references to April fooling appear in sources from before that change. A 1561 Flemish poem describes a servant being sent on foolish errands on April 1.

April 1 is not a universal prank day everywhere. Scotland historically observed a related custom called Hunt the Gowk, while France and several neighboring regions developed the “April fish” tradition. In the United Kingdom, pranks have traditionally been said to stop at noon, although that rule is not observed everywhere.