APRIL FOOLS DAY AROUND THE WORLD

It is commonly known as the prank day or a day of trickery and outrageous stunts; not only between friends but also the media becomes involved, running bogus news stories or promoting false products. The celebration of this April Fool’s Day can occur any time of the day and can be as simple or complex as the trickery wishes. The victim of the prank is supposed to maintain good humor about it. He or she will supposedly attract bad luck if he or she gets upset about the prank.

In the United States, April 1st is a day set aside to play small, clever tricks on people. Placing salt in the sugar bowl when no one is looking is not a real trick. A real April Fool’s trick takes thought, creativity, timing and a bit of acting. There are rules to this game; the trick must be harmless, the victim must believe you, and your trickery must make your victim at least smile (or better yet, laugh) when you shout “April Fool’s!” Otherwise, it does not qualify as an April fool’s Day trick.
It is celebrated all over the world; played on people in a spirit of fun. Here are some descriptions on how other countries celebrate it.

In France, this day is traditionally called Poisson d’Avril, which translates to “Fish of April” which refers to the fish that are recently hatched and therefore naïve and easy to catch. The traditional Fish of April prank is to tape a fish to someone’s back, and call them a Poisson d’Avril when they discover it. Originally, the fish was a real dead fish, but nowadays it is most often a paper fish.

In Belgium, the expression “Fish of April” not only applies to the paper (or real) fish being stuck to someone’s back, but to the tricks played on that day in general. The expression people use when someone does the prank is “I’ve baked you a Fish of April”. Even the media (press & radio) try to bake a Fish of April by adding something untrue to the news.

In Italy, it’s similar to the celebration in France, except it is called Pesce d’Aprille (in Italian). The Fish of April trickery can last all day and may include other kinds of tricks.

In Canada, the celebration is similar to April fool’s Day in the United States, and also incorporates the tradition of Poisson d’Avril from the French April Fool’s Day celebration. The Canadian tradition comes from investigator James Randi, who annually announces a tongue-in-cheek award called the Pigasus Award on April fool’s Day. These “awards” seek to expose paranormal or psychic frauds or to ridicule institutions that promote paranormal claims.

In Scotland, the celebration lasts for 2 days. Sometimes it is called Taily Day or April Gowk. The prank for the 1st day is to send people on a fool’s errand. On the 2nd day, the traditional prank is to stick an April Gowk sign on someone’s backside, similar to a “Kick Me” sign. The rule here is that the April Gowk pranks are usually only played in the morning. If someone tries one in the afternoon, they are considered the fool instead.

In Poland, it is called Pryma Aprylis. The celebration will include dressing up in costumes in addition to do some pranks. April fool’s Day in Poland is largely a holiday for children, but adults also get in on the fun. In recent years, Polish media has also taken part in the celebration.

In Denmark, the celebration of April fool’s Day is held on May 1st, and the day is called Maj-kat (or May-cat).
In Spain & Mexico, there is a day called the Feast of the Innocents on December 28th when people do pranks & tricks just as in April fool’s Day celebrations. Victims of pranks are not allowed to be upset because the pranksters are representing the innocents.

In Iran, they have a similar day to April fool’s Day celebrations that is called Sizdah Bedar, and it is held near the beginning of April.

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