In France, April Fools’ Day is known
for “poisson d’avril” or April Fish.
According to popular beliefs, the New Year
used to start on the 1st of April.
However, King Charles IX wanted the
year to start on the 1st of January.
Legend has it that some people were not happy
with this change and continued
to celebrate the New Year on April 1st. The people who DID embrace the new
calendar started to mock the reluctant ones
and gave them false presents and
played tricks on them. When the jokes started
to become more common,
false fish were often used to trick
the victim. There lies the legendary
origin of
April Fish, stuck on the back of the
fools. Today, French children try to
stick
a fish picture on their friends' back.
When the joke is discovered,
they shout "poisson d'avril!"
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