Americans not alone in trick-pulling

by Nicole Doan

Americans are not the only people who celebrate April Fool’s Day; the French are one of several ethnic groups who observe similar holidays. While the French have poisson d’avril, the British celebrate Hocktide, and Hindus observe the Festival of Colors, or Holi.

For the past few years, retired French teacher Maureen Kamei has incorporated the holiday traditions into her classes. This year, however, current French teacher Jennifer Pardini chose not to celebrate the holiday with her students.

Like April Fool’s Day, poisson d’avril, which literally means “April fish,” is celebrated April 1. French children generally cut out fish from colored paper, and write idiot, kick me or punch me in French. They stick the paper fish onto the backs of fellow friends or family members, and they would traditionally exclaim, “Poisson d’avril!” if their victims realize they have been pranked. When Kamei dedicated a class period to the holiday tradition, she gave extra credit to students who brought in photographic proof of slapping the fish onto people’s backs.

“It was very entertaining,” junior Anterpreet Kaur said. “But I like the American holiday better. With poisson d’avril, you’re limited to that one joke, but on April Fool’s, you can do many things.”