1st April: April Fools’ Day

April Fools’ Day is celebrated in different countries on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools’ Day, April 1 is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when people play practical jokes and hoaxes on each other.

In Spain, an equivalent date is December 28, Christian day of celebration of the Massacre of the Innocents. The Christian celebration is a holiday in its own right, a religious one, but the tradition of pranks is not, though the latter is observed yearly. After somebody plays a joke or a prank on somebody else, it is common to say just “Inocente!” (“Innocent!“). Nevertheless, in the Spanish island of Menorca “Dia d’enganyar” (“Fooling day”) is celebrated on April 1 because Menorca was a British possession during part of the 18th century.