Hunt the Gowk 2026: The history of April Fools' Day in Scotland, why it's known as Huntigowk Day - and what is Tailie Day?

While most of the western world knows the day as one marked by jokes and pranks, the tradition’s origin remains murky but seems to be related to the fact that in ancient times the New Year was celebrated in March close to the Spring equinox as we entered April.

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The introduction of the Gregorian calendar saw the celebration moved to January 1 which some people refused or simply were confused by - and these were the people considered fools.

Scotland, just as it does with its other unique words and traditions, came up with its own celebration - known as Huntigowk Day and lasting twice as long as April Fools’ Day.

What is Hunt the Gowk?

Hunt the Gowk is the Scottish equivalent of April Fools’ Day which is dedicated towards merriment in the form of hoaxes and pranks.

In the 16th century the prank most often played was the fool’s errand, a sort of wild goose chase also known as a “sleeveless errand”.

It is said people would prank others by sending them out on pointless tasks like delivering letters that held the following message in Scots:

“Dinna laugh, an’ dinna smile

But hunt the gowk another mile.”

The Gowk would be asked to deliver it to someone and was told it was a message requesting help. The recipient would then say that the help could only be provided if the messenger delivered (an identical) message to another person. The chain would continue until the Gowk realised they had been tricked (or until the day ended).

Another daft mission was sending people to the butcher to pick up a gill of pigeon milk.

However, the tradition stated that everyone had to stop pranking by midday.

What is Tailie Day?

The following day, April 2, is ‘Tailie Day’ which involves more physical pranks and jokes. Classics of the genre included pinning paper tails on people’s bums or placing ‘kick me’ signs on their backs.

In modern Scotland the two days have largely been combined into April Fools’ Day on April 1.

Why is it called Hunt the Gowk?

In the Scots language ‘Gowk’ refers to a Cuckoo bird which is seen as emblematic of fools, so the ‘Gowk’ is the butt of the joke.

Huntigowk Day, which is derived from Hunt the Gowk, is named so as it was a common prank to lead young people into the woods to track newly born spring cuckoos (Gowks) but always organising it too early so it would be a pointless endeavour.

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