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April Fools’ Day in France
Le Poisson d’Avril
For centuries, April 1 has been a day marked
by hoaxes and practical jokes played on
people around the world. From large pranks
about spaghetti trees in Switzerland or the
tower of Pisa falling over, to small practical
jokes played on friends and family members at
home, April 1 has long been a day when
people try to fool and are fooled by others.
• France is no exception to this world-wide
tradition, and in fact many people think April
Fools’ Day originated in France.
French Origins of April Fools Day
• Although the origins of April Fools is obscure
and debated, the most widely accepted
explanation actually credits the “holiday” as
starting in France. The most popular theory
about the origin of April Fool’s Day involves
the French calendar reform of the sixteenth
century.
• The theory goes like this: In 1564 King Charles XIV of
France reformed the calendar, moving the start of the
year from the end of March to January 1. However, in a
time without trains, a reliable post system or the
internet, news often traveled slow and the
uneducated, lower class people in rural France were
the last to hear of and accept the new calendar. Those
who failed to keep up with the change or who
stubbornly clung to the old calendar system and
continued to celebrate the New Year during the week
that fell between March 25th and April 1st, had jokes
played on them.
• Pranksters would surreptitiously stick paper
fish to their backs. The victims of this prank
were thus called Poisson d’Avril, or April Fish—
which, to this day, remains the French term
for April Fools—and so the tradition was born.
Poisson d’Avril
• Today in France, those who are fooled on April
1 are called the “Poisson d’Avril” (the April
Fish). A common prank (especially among
school-aged children) is to place a paper fish
on the back of an unsuspecting person. When
the paper fish is discovered, the victim is
declared a “Poisson d’Avril.”
• While it is not clear of the origins of fish being
associated with April 1, many think the
correlation is related to zodiac sign of Pisces (a
fish), which falls near April.
• If you are looking for an easy way to prank
your friends or family, doodling or cutting out
a paper fish and sticking it on the back of an
unsuspecting victim is an easy (though
admittedly juvenile) way of commemorating
the origins of April Fools’ Day.
• Of course as someone who enjoys France in
large part because of all the amazing food, my
personal favorite part about Poisson d’Avril are
the plethora of bakeries and cholocatiers that
make fish shaped French pastries and
chocolates in honor of the holiday. Carol
Gillot, who writes the blog Paris Breakfasts,
has a great collection of such fish-shaped
treats on her blog.
• While the poisson d’Avril may have originated
in France, it is certainly not the only country
where April Fools’ Day is celebrated with
paper fish. In fact, Italy’s Version of April Fools’
Day is very similar to the French one (and was
probably adopted from their neighbors to the
north).