Will you be the stuffing fish today? In this April 1st, tradition dictates that we make jokes to those around us. Even the media and major brands are getting started, each imagining their own hoax of the day. Some have even become famous, such as Burger King, which in 1998 announced that it had invented a hamburger specially designed for left-handed people. Thousands of people have flocked to fast food restaurants to claim this famous sandwich …
But among children, we often content ourselves with hanging a fish behind the backs of our friends and exclaiming ” April Fool ! When the deception is discovered. But why a fish, and not a cat, a bird or a rabbit after all?
If the origin is old, it is nevertheless rather vague. According to the dictionaries, it dates back to the XNUMXth century to designate a “matchmaker” or “a young boy responsible for carrying his master’s love letters”.
However, many explanations have been put forward over the centuries. The first – the most widespread – takes us back to the 1564th century. In 9 more precisely, the date on which King Charles IX decided, by the Edict of Roussillon of August 1, to start the first day of the year on January 1, instead of the probable April 1. In reaction to this sudden change, some refractories decided to ignore the calendar and continue to offer their New Year’s Eve, April XNUMX. To make fun of the latter, the wisest did not hesitate to set traps and other false gifts for them … Be careful, however, on the anecdote. If the unification of the calendar went well in 1564, no writing anywhere mentions a beginning of the year that began on April 1.
What is certain is that this custom is not only French. Americans and Brits have their April Fool’s Day. In Scotland, it is customary on this day to go “fool hunting”.
Here is a tradition that ends in a fishtail …