April Fools' Day: What are the limits when pulling a joke, prank on this day?

April Fools' Day is one of the most-anticipated days on the calendar simply because, well, who doesn't love a good joke?

Occurring annually on April 1, the April Fools' Day tradition is a free pass to fool around with your friends and family by pulling unexpected pranks followed by shouting "April Fools!" at the end. 

While France has been practicing April Fools since 1564, the origins of this tradition remains a mystery, which makes it even more fun. 

To keep things fun, here are some matters you should consider avoiding making jokes about.

Avoid jokes related to illness, death

The worst thing you can do to your loved ones is to fool them into believing that you are sick — may it be physically or mentally. The worst scenario is joking about death or anything related to it.

In fact, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa highly urged the public to go for "considerate and wholesome fun" instead of joking about heavy stuff relating to health.

No jokes about pregnancy, please

While pregnancy is a common joke on April Fools' Day, we're sorry to break it to you, but it's not a good one. Imagine pulling the pregnancy joke to someone who is having a hard time getting pregnant. Or pulling the pregnancy joke and then admitting it's just a prank to someone who just had a miscarriage.

It's just plain cruel, folks. The rule of thumb is to always err on sensitivity and kindness. 

Cheating. Need we say more?

Cheating is and will never be a joke. It's never a good idea to put your partner in an uncomfortable situation where trust issues can arise. 

Again, remember those who gained trauma from cheating. It's not a good feeling, whatever angle you look at it.

Fake engagements

Like pregnancy and cheating pranks, pulling a fake engagement prank is a lose-lose scenario as it tends to encourage high emotions from the one being pranked. 

Whether or not it's April Fools' Day, faking an engagement proposal is in bad taste, especially if the one you're pranking is actually hopeful of an engagement.

Coming out as queer as a joke

Coming out as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community is a personal decision, and it should not be joked about, especially if it's not real, and most especially from someone insincere. 

The gay community has been through a lot of discrimination and unequal treatment; leave them out of your jokes.  

Instead of the jokes above, consider safer, equally hilarious pranks for all parties involved. On that note, have you tried a grilled cardboard sandwich or a salty coffee? LOL! 

— LA, GMA Integrated News