Who as a child has never played a prank on April 1st? And who still does them today? It is a tradition rooted in many cultures, but why do we say “Pesce d’Aprile” or “Poisson d’Avril” in Italy and France, while for example in the UK we talk about “April’s Fool day”?

The origins of this custom are not at all clear, some place it in Europe about 600 years ago, others in the Middle Ages, others in Asia or ancient Egypt!

One hypothesis links “April Fool’s Day” to the spring equinox, around March 21tst which – in ancient times – corresponded to New Year’s Day in many cultures, an occasion on which it was customary to exchange small gifts. With the advent of the Gregorian Calendar in 1582, New Year’s Day was moved to January 1st for the entire Christian world. It is said, however, that in France many people continued to follow the old tradition and that others were reached by the news of the change only a long, long time later. So – to make a mockery of the change or of those who did not accept it – the custom of exchanging fake gifts on April 1st was born: beautiful empty packages, or joke gifts, up to actual invitations to parties that in reality did not exist. Often a card was included in the package that said “April Fool’s Day” or “Poisson d’avril” or with a drawing of a person holding a fish.

Actually, the fish reference, also supports another hypothesis according to which the custom is linked to the April fishing season of the past. Between the end of March and the beginning of April the sea begins to become more fishy. But it could happen that the first fishing of April was fruitless and so the fishermen who returned to port with empty nets were the object of ridicule.

Or the reference to the fish could refer to the Christian Easter, Jesus, according to the Gregorian Calendar, would have died on April 1st and one of the symbols that represent him is the Christian tradition is the “ichthys”, from the ancient Greek “fish”. And the rebirth of Jesus is a reason for celebration.

In other cultures the reference to fish is lost, but not the decidedly joking connotation of the day!

“April Fools” could derive from the ancient Roman festival “HIlaria”, or from the Indian festival of colours, oor form an Iranian celebration hat can be placed between the 1st and 2nd of April, whose tradition of playing pranks dates back to well before Christ, or perhaps we owe it all to a  a fishing contest between Anthony and Cleopatra in which Anthony, wanting to make fun of Cleopatra, was actually fooled by her!

Wherever this tradition comes from, we still happily follow it today, in Italy and around the world.

In England, there is still the tradition of the “April fool’s day”, where perhaps the figure of the “fool” refers to the court jester, a symbol of cheerfulness par excellence. In the Scottish Highlands, the tradition is divided into two days, the second being “Taily Day”, in which a piece of paper is attached to the back of the unfortunate person with the words: “Kick me!” (Give me a kick). In Germany, it is called “Aprilscherz”, and pranks have also invaded the world of technology and German media. While in Portugal, flour is thrown at each other.

In short, we may not know where the custom of the “April Fool” comes from, but we know that it is still celebrated today in many countries of the world, involving millions of people who communicate with each other in an ironic, mocking and witty way.

Offering you the best tools to communicate in a foreign language is the main goal of the Languages at Work team … ah… and this is not an April Fools’ prank! 🙂