April Fools day

April Fools’ Day falls on 1st April every year.

• Yes

• No

April Fools’ Day is celebrated in many countries.

• True

• False

In France they call it ... .

• Oiseau d’Avril (April bird)

• Poisson d’Avril (April fish)

Ancient Romans had a holiday which was very similar to April Fools’ Day! It was called .... .

• Aprilia

• Hilaria

Lots of companies, radios and TV channels make April Fools jokes!

• True

• False

April Fools’ Day celebrations actually last ... days in Scotland?

• three

• two

In Scotland it’s also known as ‘April Gowk’, ‘Gowkie Day’ and ‘Hunt the Gowk’.

Gowk means ... !

• kraa

• cuckoo

In France they have a tradition where they ... .

• stick a paper tail on each others backs

• stick a paper fish on each others backs

Some historians believe that April Fools’ Day dates back to ... .

• 1201

• 1582

Answer explanation

Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize this fact and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 were called “April fools.”

One of the best April Fools jokes was in 1957 when the BBC reported that ...

And people actually believed it and even phoned up to ask how they could grow their own!

• lollypops were growing from trees!

• spaghetti was growing from trees!