April Fools' Day: origin, curiosities and funny jokes for children

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people

George Bernard Shaw

December 28th is the day of the Holy Innocents , a holiday of Christian origin in which it is customary to play pranks on loved ones, family, friends, coworkers or acquaintances. The celebration has the status of a holiday in the Roman rite of the Catholic Church and is included in the general Roman calendar.

The origin of this date is religious: Christian churches remember on this day the children killed by Herod I the Great , considered the first victims of Christianity. This king is said to have ordered the slaughter of all children under two years of age born in Bethlehem (Judea), in order to ensure that the announced Messiah - Jesus of Nazareth - was killed. Of the canonical gospels, the story only appears in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 2, 16-18).

The connection between the widespread jokes of this day and the story of the children is based on the stratagems and deceptions that families invented to protect their children from the murderers who came from Herod.

The festival also has a pagan aspect related to the Saturnian festivals , the Roman festivals dedicated to Saturn. During these festivals, slaves had more freedom and were allowed to transgress more, so they played all kinds of jokes.

The most typical joke is to make someone look innocent. Usually called “llufa”, it is a paper puppet that people stick or hang on the backs of loved ones. When someone falls for this joke or another one - called “innocentadas” - they are told “innocent, innocent”. There are all kinds of jokes: from television, radio or telephone jokes to face-to-face jokes or even through social networks or instant messaging applications.

7 curiosities about the day of the Holy Innocents that you probably didn't know

• The tradition of El Salvador : On December 28th, a religious celebration takes place in Antiguo Cuscatlán, in the department of La Libertad. During this patronal festival of the city, people from all over the country bring floats or baskets with images of children, as a way of votive offering and in gratitude for some favor received. A popular fair takes place in the streets with food and craft stalls.
• The giant doll of Tremp : in Tremp, capital of Pallars Jussá, province of Lleida, a giant llufa or paper doll is hung from the bell tower. After a parade, people sing for it to come down and finally, they burn it.
• Lots of flour : In Ibi (Alicante), the Day of the Flour Battle takes place, where a carnival-like flour battle takes place. 14 people become the flour battlers, including the mayor and other officials such as the judge, the prosecutor, the bailiff. The opposition, represented by the black top hats, wants to take power away from them with flour, fireworks and powders.
• The Festival of Fools : In the Valencian town of Jalance, the Festival of Fools is celebrated, which dates back to the 17th century, with pagan symbolism, where “everything is allowed” and the youngest have a great time with outlandish costumes, bands, roguery and makeup.
• Horror movies: There are many films inspired by this date, such as the films April Fool's Day, Bloody Innocence, Seven Women Trapped and The Innocents.
• Purple color : It is common for many priests to wear purple or violet vestments on this date, as a symbol of homage to the tragic deaths that have occurred.
• Innocent Gala : This television gala takes place in Spain on December 28, dedicated to hospitalised children. For the 13th consecutive year, RTVE joins forces with the Inocente Foundation on December 28, this time to help hospitalised children, with a special focus on minors affected by DANA. Paula Vázquez, Juanma Iturriaga, Jacob Petrus and Carolina Casado will participate as presenters; Juan y Medio as a special guest and victims of the pranks such as Belén Rueda, Toni Nadal, Lara Álvarez, Manu Baqueiro and India Martínez. In 2023, more than 2 million euros were raised for children with rare diseases and their families.

Ideas for pranks to play on April Fool's Day

• Applications for pranks : make a funny call with JuasApp; wake up siblings or friends with Real Horn; replicate fake conversations in FakeChat; use the Lie Detector or delete images with Ghost Camera for a spooky result are some fantastic ideas for this day.
• Classic pranks for children : changing sugar for salt or vice versa; tying a string to a bill and moving it or sticking a coin to the ground; sticking the classic stick figure; buying a fart cushion or buying a fake fly or a plastic spider to put on the plate are some of the classic pranks that never go out of style and will make you laugh your head off.
• Creative ideas : dressing up as a monster to scare someone, hiding in a closet with a ghost sheet, faking blood with tomato sauce, changing the time on the clocks, pouring shaving foam on someone's sleeping face, or making "Oreos" filled with toothpaste are some very nice ideas for the humorous day of the year.

Don't forget to have fun. Happy April Fool's Day!