Everyday is a holiday
well... not every day, but certainly if you work in a large multinational, it can feel that way with colleagues, clients and customers around the world, celebrating a diverse amount of national, cultural or public holidays. Office Holidays shows you when these holidays are happening, to help you plan your meetings with colleagues and clients, as well as having some interesting fun by delving into the background of these holidays. This lens will feature information on the background to some of the most interesting national holidays.
Upcoming Holidays
List of forthcoming major holidays around the world.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byFeatured Holiday: April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day, also known as All Fools' Day is not a national holiday, but its traditions are observed in many countries on April 1.
The day is observed by trying to play a practical joke on a victim who becomes known as an April Fool. The practical jokes range from simple to elaborate. Whatever the trick, the prankster usually ends it by yelling to his victim, "April Fool!"
In certain countries, April Fools' jokes must be made before noon on 1 April otherwise it is the prankster who is the April Fool.
Origin
The origin of the customs of the day are shrouded in mystery. Some scholars believe it is likely to be a relic of festivities held to mark the vernal equinox. These celebrations of the first days of spring, began on the 25th of March, and ended on the 2nd of April. Certainly there is some evidence to suggest that April1st was observed as a general festival in pagan Britain.
More commonly, the customs are associated with the switch to the Gregorian calendar in France during the sixteenth century.
Historically, many parts of the world, celebrated April 1st as New Year's Day - due to it's relationship with the start of Spring.
France was one of the first countries to adopt January 1 as their official New Year's Day, by decree of Charles IX in 1564. This was before the 1582 adoption of the Gregorian calendar.
The gifts and traditions which had been the feature of the 1st of April switched to January 1st. However, many people either refused to accept the change or did not hear about the news several years. Those who still celebrated April 1 were seen as 'fools' by the general populace, and fair game to be the butt of pranks and tricks were known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish."
The traditions spread to England and Scotland in the eighteenth century, and was brought to the American colonies by both the English and French.
Read more about the history and traditions of lots more holidays on Office Holidays
In certain countries, April Fools' jokes must be made before noon on 1 April otherwise it is the prankster who is the April Fool.
Origin
The origin of the customs of the day are shrouded in mystery. Some scholars believe it is likely to be a relic of festivities held to mark the vernal equinox. These celebrations of the first days of spring, began on the 25th of March, and ended on the 2nd of April. Certainly there is some evidence to suggest that April1st was observed as a general festival in pagan Britain.
More commonly, the customs are associated with the switch to the Gregorian calendar in France during the sixteenth century.
Historically, many parts of the world, celebrated April 1st as New Year's Day - due to it's relationship with the start of Spring.
France was one of the first countries to adopt January 1 as their official New Year's Day, by decree of Charles IX in 1564. This was before the 1582 adoption of the Gregorian calendar.
The gifts and traditions which had been the feature of the 1st of April switched to January 1st. However, many people either refused to accept the change or did not hear about the news several years. Those who still celebrated April 1 were seen as 'fools' by the general populace, and fair game to be the butt of pranks and tricks were known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish."
The traditions spread to England and Scotland in the eighteenth century, and was brought to the American colonies by both the English and French.
Read more about the history and traditions of lots more holidays on Office Holidays
April Fools' Day Presents
April Fool's Day
Amazon Price: (as of 07/12/2009) 
April Fool
Amazon Price: $7.95 (as of 07/12/2009)
![The April Fools [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21P0ZREQ7KL._SL75_.jpg)
The April Fools [VHS]
Amazon Price: (as of 07/12/2009)
April Fools
Amazon Price: $17.99 (as of 07/12/2009)
The April Fools' Day Murder: A Christine Bennett Mystery
Amazon Price: $5.20 (as of 07/12/2009)
Blog Posts from Google
Holidays you just missed
- St. Patrick's Day
- St. Patrick's Day
- Valentine's Day
- Valentine's Day
- Christmas Day
- Christmas Day
- US Thanksgiving
- US Thanksgiving
- Halloween
- Halloween
- Independence Day
- Independence DayIndependence Day (Fourth of July)
Drag to Reor (Fourth of July)
by OfficeHolidays
Office Holidays is a site that shows when your colleagues. clients and customers in offices around the world may be off due to local holidays. Each ho... (more)
