Poisson d'Avril

Would you ever have guessed that April Fool’s Day in France would involve paper fish, giraffes and…Homer Simpson?

In 1564, Charles IX, then King of France, changed the date of the first day of the year to the 1st January. Up until that point, the first day of the year was the 1st April, which coincided with the end of Lent.

Naturally, such a seismic shift ruffled a few plumes*, with many still insisting on celebrating the New Year on the 1st April. Those who were more progressive saw these stalwarts as foolish in not accepting to literally move with the times, so took the opportunity to pin paper fishes on their backs and taunt them with Poisson d’Avril!*. The fish is a reference to Lent, as it was the only meat the Catholic Church tolerated being eaten during this time.

Even today, long after we’ve all come to terms with the ‘new dates’, Poisson d’Avril is still a day for practical jokes and trickery.

In 2020, the town of Beaulieu-sur-Mer posted pictures of giraffes invading the town and on 1st April 2009, the SNCF’s railway announcements were taken over by none other than Homer Simpson!

*feathers | *April Fish!