PRINCETON, N.J. – If you were planning a prank for April 1 the joke is on you, according to leading astro-historian Philip Johansson of Princeton University. Earlier this year, Johansson was among a handful of astro-historians who added “Ophiuchus” to the astrological chart, correcting a millennium-old miscalculation of the stars. 

During the research, Johansson discovered that the Gregorian Calendar, which corrected inadequacies in the Julian Calendar and created “April Fool’s Day” was actually one day removed from the precise astrological calendar.

“I’ve had a difficult time getting people to take this seriously but the actual April Fool’s Day should have been April 2,” Johansson said. “I’m not certain whether it was a legitimate mistake or the first and most enduring April Fool’s Day prank but it’s long since overdue for correction.”

The Society of Astro-Historians, which was also responsible for removing Pluto’s status as a planet, voted unanimously to re-designate April 2 as the official April Fool’s Day. They made the announcement earlier this week to avoid confusion.

“We were originally going to make the announce on April 1, but who would have believed us?” Johansson asked.

Before becoming the prankster’s feast day it has, April Fool’s Day was a time for sending servants on superfluous errands, hence the term. As the practice of having servants became economically prohibitive the modern day April Fool’s movement began.

Working with Sen. Al Franklin (D-Minn.) the society has congress considering a bill making April 2 a national holiday. Johansson said that having federal recognition was likely the only way to get people to accept the change.

“This is just another adjustment that makes our calendar better jibe with the astronomical movements,” Johansson said. “It’s unfortunate that by its very nature people have trouble accepting it.”