We all know April Fool’s Day in the US is a day to play tricks and practical jokes. In France this custom is similar, but just a bit different. We call it “poisson d’avril” (meaning April’s fish) and the prank is always the same – children spend the day trying to attach a paper fish to other people’s backs without being noticed.

There’s no concrete evidence as to why the date of April 1st is significant, but we do know that France adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1582, shifting New Year’s Day to the first of January from the first of April. Legend has it that with the resulting confusion the “April Fools” who hadn’t yet adjusted to the new calendar were wishing people a Happy New Year in April, and practical jokes sprung up as a way to poke fun at their mistakes.

But why fish? Your guess is as good as ours – perhaps you should cut out a paper fish and try the “cultural experience” yourself!

À bientôt

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 1:37 pm and is filed under French Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.