It's the first of April and the start of a new month. So far this year is flying by and, if I'm being totally honest, hasn't really been living up to what I thought it would be. But let's focus on today and the fact that it's also April Fools' Day.
Did you know that the holiday is believed to have originated in France? During the 16th century, King Charles XIV of France decided the country, which had been using the Julian calendar, would start using the Gregorian one instead, thereby moving the start of the new year from early April to the first of January. Some people refused to comply and others didn't find out for a while (news travelled slowly in those days), leading to their being labelled fools and having tricks played on them. Today the date is known as "poisson d'Avril" in France where the custom is to stick a paper fish on the back of an unsuspecting victim and shout "poisson d'Avril." Silly but harmless. So have a good day and watch your back.
Image from here.
