Where did the annual April Fools’ Day tradition come from?

Lots of Newspapers and magazines will publish fake stories, your friends and colleagues will be looking to catch you out – you’re basically on high alert until midday, when you can breathe a sigh of relief for another year.

But where do you think did the annual tradition come from and why is it still so popular?

No-one has a definitive answer as to why the day exists, but there are some ideas out there.

And Here's some of the strongest theories behind why we wake up to clingfilm on the toilet and ludicrous news stories every April 1.

Gregorian Calendar

Pope Gregory XIII (1502-1585) (Picture: Getty)

There is strong evidence that Pope Gregory XIII is behind the day of trickery. He adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582, which moved our year from March to January 1. Although the change was widely advertised, some people missed it and when these people celebrated the new year on April 1 they were seen as foolish.

When they were ridiculed, the day became known as Fools’ Day.

Putting an ‘April Fish’ on someone’s back is still a tradition in France (Picture: Getty)

They would put paper fish on the ‘fools’’ backs, and called them Poisson d’Avril – or April Fish. This is still the term used in France for April Fools’.

Renewal Festivals

(Picture: Getty)

There is a different theory that April Fools’ Day is left over from the idea of renewal festivals, which marked the end of winter and the start of spring and one of the oldest versions of this occasion was the Roman festival Hilaria.

This festival coincided with the spring equinox, and invited Romans to take part in games, pranks and masquerades. Those who took part in the festival would wear disguises, play tricks on people and generally wreak havoc.

French Revolution

George III (Picture: Getty)

Another theory according to historians, on April 1 1789, King George III of England made a joke after the French deposed King Louis XVI – he pretended to step down. Peasants took to the streets and celebrated their new freedom – then got arrested and imprisoned.

Gotham, Nottinghamshire

(Picture: Creative Commons / Wikipedia)

And a folk’s tale links April Fools’ Day to a town called Gotham in Nottinghamshire. It said it was traditional in the 13th century for any road that the King placed his foot on to become public property when the town heard that King John planned to travel through, they didn’t want to let him in, because they would lose their main road.

Upon learning of the news, the King sent his soldiers, but when they arrived, all they saw was a town full of lunatics.

The people of Gotham were carrying out foolish activities such as drowning fish or trying to cage birds in roofless cages.

Although it was all an act, the King fell for it – and proclaimed that the town was too foolish for him to pass through.

April Fools’ Day is therefore seen as a mark of their victory.