April Fool’s Day (aka All Fools Day) is a playful day celebrated on the 1st day of April around the world.

On this day people of all ages play tricks ( or pranks or practical jokes) on each other, spread hoaxes and often yell ” April fool”  at the person who falls for the joke! They all end up having a good laugh!

So how do people celebrate this day across the world?

In the U.K., a person playing a joke would yell “April Fool!” at the recipient. According to tradition, the joking is supposed to stop at midday.

In Scotland, April Fool’s Day is called Gowkie Day because the gowk, a kind of bird  (also known as cuckoo), is a symbol of foolishness. The whole thing lasts for twodays. During the first day, people prank each other. On the day following Gowkie Day, they place signs on their friends’ backs reading “kick me”.

In France, the day is called Poisson d’Avril . This translates to April Fish. Kids stick a paper fish on their friends’ back and yell out “Poisson d’Avril” when their friends finally find it.

In Germany a common prank (“Aprilscherz”) is to have people run errands, looking for things that don not actually exist! This is called ‘sending someone into April!’