Learn about April Fool's Day in the United Kingdom
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| Hi everyone, I'm Gina. |
| The first of April is April Fool's Day - a day to try and fool your friends with jokes and a day to have some lighthearted fun. |
| In this lesson, you're going to learn about April Fool's Day in the UK. |
| There was a famous April Fool's story about penguins published by the BBC. What do you think the story was? |
| We’ll show you the answer at the end of this video. |
| It is commonly thought that the reason why the first of April is a day for tricks is due to the changing of the calendar. Currently, we use the Gregorian calendar and a new year starts on the first of January. However, previously the Julian calendar was used and in this calendar a new year started on the first of April. When the change was made, those who still celebrated on the first of April were mocked and called fools. |
| On the first of April we play tricks on others and try to deceive the more gullible amongst our friends. The more outlandish these tricks and deceptions are the better! However, this custom should only last until midday. After midday April Fool's Day is over and tricksters shouldn't play anymore tricks should be played. |
| April Fool's Day isn't just an event held between friends. Every year, major multi-national corporations, celebrities and media outlets also try to play tricks on the public. Every year most major national newspapers will carry a story or two on the first of April that is a joke and the game becomes trying to spot it! |
| The Gregorian calendar was first conceived in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII but was not adopted by the UK until 1752. Delaying the change resulted in eleven days being skipped so that the calendar could run correctly. |
| And now I'll give you the answer to the earlier quiz. |
| There was a famous April Fool's story about penguins published by the BBC. What do you think the story was? |
| The BBC claimed that their cameras in the Antarctic had captured footage of flying penguins. It was claimed these penguins would migrate to South Africa every summer. |
| How was this lesson? Did you learn something interesting? |
| Do you have a day for fooling in your country? |
| Leave us a comment at EnglishClass101.com. And we'll see you in the next lesson! |
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