Days Until April Fools' Day

About April Fools' Day

April 1 is an informal day of practical jokes and hoaxes observed in many countries, with an origin that remains genuinely uncertain — one commonly cited but historically disputed theory ties it to France's 16th-century switch from a calendar year starting around Easter to one starting January 1, leaving those who kept celebrating the old new year in late March/early April as the butt of jokes.

Media outlets and companies frequently participate with elaborate fictional announcements, a tradition that predates the internet but has become especially prominent online.

Some cultures mark a similar prank-based day on a different date instead — including Spain and much of Latin America's Día de los Santos Inocentes, observed on December 28 — showing the practical-joke tradition isn't universally tied to April 1.

Several major companies have had elaborate April Fools' hoaxes backfire when misread as genuine news, occasionally forcing same-day public corrections — a recurring risk of the tradition in the instant-sharing social media era.