April Fools' Day has been celebrated for hundreds of years by various different cultures.

It often involves playing practical jokes on each other, with people often saying “April Fools!” at the end to clue in the subject of the joke.

The day has kept its longevity, and brands still continue to utilise it for marketing.

Its exact reason for existing is unknown, but here are the best theories about why it continues to have a place in our culture.

Falmouth Packet: Trying to catch someone out with a practical joke is part of April Fools' Day (Canva)Trying to catch someone out with a practical joke is part of April Fools' Day (Canva)

Why do we have April Fools' Day?

According to History.com historians believe April Fools' Day might have started back in 1582 when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.

In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1.

However, some people were slow to get this news and didn't realise that the start of the year had been switched to January 1.

They continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1, and became the subject of hoaxes and were called “April fools.”

On the website, it says: "These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as “poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person."

There is also a theory that April Fools' Day is linked to the Roman festival of Hilaria (Latin for joyful), which was celebrated at the end of March by the cult of Cybele.

It involved people dressing up in disguises and mocking fellow citizens and even magistrates and was said to be inspired by the Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth.