1. Poisson d’avril

2. L’histoire  New Year originally started on April 1 st.  King Charles IX said no and changed the date to the first of January with the Edict of Roussillon.  However, people were mad and decided to ignore the Edict and continue to celebrate on April 1 st while mocking those who celebrated on January 1 st.

3. Why a fish?  Lent! When April 1 st was the start of the new year, people couldn’t eat meat because of Lent. So they gave out fish!  When the tradition changed, people gave out fake fish on April 1 st to those who celebrated January 1 st to make fun of them!

4. Other Countries  United Kingdom:  Joking stops at midday.  Those who continue to make jokes are considered the fool  Scotland and Ireland:  Huntigowk Day  Deliver a sealed message  Continue to have the messenger deliver the sealed message  Because the message just says, “Send the fool further.”  Poland, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden:  Media hoaxes are made  First page is typically the news hoax  Not too serious and only 1 story but never know which story is fake  Italy, France, Belgium, and French Speaking Areas:  April Fish  Stuck on someone’s back as to play a joke

5. Vocab  Une farce: a practical joke  Une blague: a joke (physical or verbal)  Une histoire drole: verbal funny story  Un jeu de mot: a pun  Rire: to laugh  Rigoler: to laugh  Je suis mort(e) de rire: I died from laughing  Je suis pete(e) de rire: I’m broken in two from laughing.

6. Une Chose Intéressante  April Fool’s day is not a national holiday!!  Rather, it is merely widely celebrated in many countries.