April fool´s day

This day is named from the custom of playing practial jokes or sending friends on fool's errands on that date. But the origin of this custom is unknown. It resembles other festivals, such as the Hilaria of ancient Rome and the Holy festival of India. Its timing seems related to the vernal equinox  (March 21st), when nature “fools” mankind with sudden changes in the weather.

On April Fools' Day all people are given an excuse to play the fool. In France, the fooled person is called poisson d'avril (meaning “April fish”), but the origin of the name is unknown. On the other hand, in April the cuckoo, which is the emblem of simpletons, comes; that is why in Scotland the victim is called “gowk” (meaning “cuckoo”). The custom of playing April Fools' jokes was taken to America by the British. It has continued to be observed by children and adults, and sometimes involves really elaborated hoaxes or just simple jokes.

One of the most famous jokes in Europe was The Spaghetti-tree hoax. It was a three- minute hoax report which was broadcast on April Fools' Day in 1957  by the BBC programme Panorama. It showed a family in Switzerland harvesting spaghetti from the family “spaghetti tree”. At that time, spaghetti was not very well known in the UK, so many Britons didn't know that it is made from wheat flour and water. A group of  viewers afterwards contacted the BBC for advice on growing their own spaghetti trees. Decades later, CNN called this broadcast “the biggest hoax that any reputable  news establishment  ever pulled”.