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becoming madame, France, French April Fools' Day, french culture, Life in Paris, lifestyle, Paris, paris life, poisson d'avril, Travel
April 1st is also a day of practical jokes and laughs here in France. The difference is that instead of a the usual North American tricks, like, say, telling someone they have a big meeting that morning when in fact they don’t – “April Fools!”, the French cut out paper fish and stick them onto the backs of unsuspecting friends. The friend then becomes “poisson d’avril,” hence the name “The Fish of April” for April Fool’s Day. Apparently, April Fools’ Day is an international phenomenon: A Polish friend once told me that on April 1st in Poland the joke is to throw cold water onto people in the morning to wake them up. Luckily, I live in France and only have to deal with paper fish. And even then it’s mostly French children who partake in the tradition, although bakeries and pastry shops get into the festive spirit by making a plethora of fish-shaped goodies.
I asked my husband where this traditional came from but much to my disappointment he said he had no idea. “That’s just what we do,” he said. So I had to look it up. I found the following interesting explanation on France Travel Guide.com:
“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.
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.”
Given that I don’t yet have any little French children running around my house, my husband and I spent the afternoon in a rather more relaxed manner. We took a lovely stroll through the Bois de Boulogne. I love this particular park in Paris, which the French call a forest, for its lakes where children sail miniature boats, for the couples in the rented row boats slipping through the water surrounded by swans and for the little bloom-covered bridges connecting the small islands. We, over here in Paris, are very lucky indeed for we are heading into our third consecutive week of breathtaking weather, the kind where the sun peeks out of a crystal blue sky and a slight fresh breeze glides through the air. It’s my absolute favorite time of the year, especially in Paris!
Take a peek:
Katia Singletary Art and Photography said:
I live in the US now and as a French Woman, you better believe that today poisson d’Avril hugs were in the books!
Great post as usual!
Thank you for sharing.
roughwighting1 said:
Love the photos of the ‘forest,’ and the explanation of April Fool’s. Fun!
Kimby said:
What a beautiful beginning for April there! Loved seeing your slide show — even the ducks look happy. 🙂 This was a mid-Sunday-afternoon treat, thanks!
Shtina said:
Thanks for talking about “Le poisson d’avril”. I remember that from French class and think it is such a funny tradition. 🙂
Your pictures are nice too. It looks like spring is just starting in Paris.
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emfivek said:
Just fantastic pictures! I am going to do my best to visit the “Bois de Boulogne” before I head home. It looks absolutely gorgeous!
Thanks for sharing!
Lu said:
I kind of like the idea of an “April Fish” 😉
It’s something I’ve never heard of before, but it sounds a lot better than being an “April Fool”!
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Michi said:
What a beautiful park! I was just in Paris over the weekend, and went to Parc Monceau to enjoy a nice stroll. Not a minute had gone by when the whistles started going off, asking people to leave because the gates were closing! (I had forgotten how early places close in France, compared to Spain). I did enjoy what little I saw of it, though. *sigh* I’d love to live in France and get to know the culture and language.
robincoyle said:
I had no idea. I think we Yanks should start that tradition.
Nirmala Aravind said:
Nice to know how April first is celebrated in Paris
Alexis Steele said:
i liked this website and you gave good info on April fish day… I thought that it was Pope Gregory that’s what i got from this one web site… is that true?
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Becoming Madame said:
Thank you very much!! I’ll certainly try.
muchpru said:
I’ve been told the fish was because of the Christian symbol, and Easter usually is around the beginning of April. Many Roman Catholics in France eat fish on Good Friday. I think the French “April fish” phenomenon is now a mix of religious and various popular ideas (pretty much like Christmas btw…).
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Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon said:
The French are so much more polite. It’s just paper instead of unfunny jokes. Oh, and I have heard they refer to an older female as a woman of a certain age. I love that especially since I became one.
Madonna
MakeMineLemon
Robert said:
There was no King Charles XIV of France. In 1564, the King was Charles IX (Charles neuf). The highest Roman numeral for a king Charles of France is Charles X, anyway.
Nancy said:
Fantastique! I love reading about France, Paris, and French culture and history. Merci for your posts /;~}