In France, until 1564 the first of April used to be New Year’s Day. Then, the King Charles IX decided to change the calendar and put the beginning of the year in January… When it First Started…
In that time, people used to give each other presents for New Year. When the day changed, people kept on giving presents in April. Because it wasn’t the real beginning of the year anymore, they decided to give fake presents and do tricks (“des farces”) and jokes (“des blagues”) instead !! When it First Started…
In Catholic religion, Easter is the end of Lent (Le carême), when it is prohibited to eat meat, so people used to eat fish, which was a common present in the old days. This is where the fake fish tradition comes from ! When it First Started…
So nowadays, children stick fake fish in people’s back on 1st April ! Every time they manage to trick a grown-up, they run away shouting out “Poisson d'avril!” - and laughing lots too.
L ES SIX CONSEILS – 6 ADVICES : 1 - ne prépare pas ta farce au dernier moment 2 - n'insiste pas trop, cela aurait l'air suspect 3 - ne ris pas avant de faire la farce 4 - ne fais pas deux fois de suite la même farce 5 - ne fais pas de farces trop compliquées 6 - réfléchis bien aux conséquences de ta farce.