Over the years, certain holidays have become fixtures on the French calendar. Such is the case of April Fool's Day, celebrated every April 1. It's a day when grown-ups fall back into childhood, and younger people have a field day: hooking fish on other people's backs, or indulging in one or more hoaxes. Joke Day, April 1st is now a real custom in France, and even elsewhere. But where does this tradition come from? Why play pranks on April 1st, and why is fish associated with this holiday? We reveal the history and origins of April Fools' Day.
As with many other holidays, April 1st has many origins. The one that comes up most often takes us back in time to 1564, when King Charles IX decided to move the New Year to January 1, whereas it had previously been celebrated on April 1. The aim of this date change? To follow the Gregorian calendar. A change that some French people have ignored, and others have had trouble memorizing. Continuing to give presents to their loved ones on the wrong date, some people took to gently mocking them, for example by sending them false gifts or playing tricks on them on this day.
April 1: 12 Parisian anecdotes you won't believe!
If April 1st is the day for jokes and hoaxes, we'd like to surprise you with some unusual anecdotes that you may find hard to believe... and yet! [Read more]
But why is fish associated with the April 1st holiday? Here too, the answers differ, as grammarian Pierre-Marie Quitard explains in his Dictionnaire des proverbes et des locutions proverbiales de la langue française. Firstly, there's the story that the Prince of Lorraine, then a prisoner in Nancy castle, escaped by swimming across the Meurthe on April 1st. Another, more religious explanation refers to the end of Lent, the month of April. During this period of fasting, Christians were forbidden to eat meat. From then on, fish was the most popular staple at the table. Finally, there's also a reference to the zodiac calendar, with April corresponding to the sign of Pisces.
Every year, all over the world, children of all ages indulge in their passion of the day: making jokes, some of which have gone down in history. Some of you may remember the 1957 BBC report on the spaghetti tree!
And then there are those memorable announcements, like in 1986 when the JT announced that the Eiffel Tower was moving to Marne-la-Vallée, in 2009 when the SNCF used Homer Simpson's voice in stations, or in 2016 when the RATP renamed thirteen stations on the Paris metro.
April 1: 12 Parisian anecdotes you won't believe!
