Where Did April Fool's Day Get Its Start?
Sorry, I'm a day late, but here's the story . . .
No one knows for sure, but all signs seem to point to France in the 1500s.
Here's the story: It's 1582 and France is making the switch from the Julian calendar over to the Gregorian calendar (the one we all use today).
When that happened, the New Year reset to January 1 from its previous date sometime around the March equinox.
A small group of stubborn Frenchmen refused to accept the new date, at which point they were referred to as "April fools," and the new Gregorian-savvy French folk played tricks on their foolishly stubborn neighbors.
April Fool's Day is still celebrated in France today, where it's known as “Poisson d’Avril,” or “April Fish.”
Kids will stick a paper fish to the backs of their unexpecting friends and yell "Poisson d'Avril" when they discover the prank.
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