Ask HISTORY: April Fools' Day - HISTORY

How did practical jokes become associated with April 1? Ask History has the answers.

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April 1st, also known as April Fools Day is explained by Russell Mitchell in this video clip from This Day In History along with other events occurring on this day. This includes the launching of the first successful weather satellite, TIROS-1. The Canadian province of Nunavut, which included the homeland of Inuit's/Eskimos Baffin Island, was declared independent on April 1st. Also, the US House of Representatives met for the first time in New York.

What is Hanukkah? History.com's Ask a Rabbi explains Hanukkah and this Jewish holiday's customs. Learn about the menorah, dreidel and other items that have become part of the Jewish holiday Hanukkah.

Veterans Day has changed days and names but it has always been a day to honor those who serve their country.

In this Ask a Rabbi video, learn why Passover is the celebration of the liberation of the ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt. They left Egypt, crossing the Red Sea into the Sinai desert to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah and finally stopped in the promised land of Israel. One of the foods that is used in the celebration is Matzos; it is an unleavened bread that takes 18 minutes to make and is hard like a cracker.

Historian Yohuru Williams gives a crash course on a riot in Chicago's Haymarket Square that changed the labor movement in the United States.

How did St. Valentine become associated with love and romance? Get the full story behind the holiday.

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