April Fool’s Day

British people like to play jokes or hoaxes on their friends and co-workers on April 1st each year. For example, I remember one case where a friend was called and told he had been selected as ‘Customer Of The Month’ by a fashion shop he often buys clothes at. He rushed to the shop to receive his prize but the staff didn’t know why he was there – his friend had made the call. Larger scale jokes are made by newspapers or other organisations. For example, one local newspaper reported on a local government plan to build a multi-story zoo near the city centre. Many people called the local government to complain that this was against animal rights. The local government wasn’t happy about this but they accepted it as an April Fool’s joke. Some April Fool’s jokes can be simple, fun, tricks, but others can cause problems, and many people hate this day because of it.
This Wikipedia page gives examples of real April Fool’s jokes.,
日本のエイプリルフールは、ちょっとした‘ウソ’を楽しみますが、イギリスでは友達や同僚に対してだけではなく、大がかりなジョークを仕掛けられることがあります。ショップから’今月のカスタマー‘に選ばれたと電話があり、喜んで出かけていくとジョークだったり、ローカル新聞に報じられた新しい動物園の建設計画までもがジョーク。4月1日にイギリスにいる方はお気をつけください。ただし、これが許されるのは4月1日だけです。