Hilaria was a Roman festival celebrated on March 25 on the occasion of the spring equinox and worship of the Phrygian goddess of fertility, fertility, spring and defensive cities. March 25 was an extremely positive day because of the joyful days of the resurrection celebration of the vegetation god Attis – companion Cybele.
The cult of Cybele and Attis spread in ancient Rome during the reign of the emperor Claudius. That day, joy was born about the nascent nature, masquerades, games, games took place in the streets and there was generally a very cheerful mood. In addition, on this day, the Romans were also to make fun of friends and family – hence probably the current custom of making jokes on April 1.
