The first of April, some do say, Is set apart for all Fools' Day. But why people call it so, Nor I, nor they themselves do know. But on this day are people sent On purpose for pure merriment. Poor Robin's Almanac (1760) As I sift through childhood memories of holidays and family traditions, first day of comes to mind. I can see my mother, reserved and proper New Englander, watching my father dip into sugar bowl and put spoonful of salt into his coffee at breakfast. April fool! she says, as he tastes bitter surprise. My brother and I cannot contain our mirth as we watch him fumble towards sink, desperate for quick gulp of water. Priscilla! he says, shaking his head as he refills glass. You did it again. On any other day, for my mother to substitute salt for sugar and wait for her husband to begin his day as fool would be absurd. Quiet and patient, she was not known as prankster. But on that one day and that day alone, this unexpected change in her behavior was oddly acceptable. In North America, Europe, Iceland, New Zealand, and Australia, first day in is an unofficial that is marked by pranks and lies. It is time when untruths are expected. Fools' Day is also known as all Fools' Day and Noddy. Addison and Steele's Spectator describes 1st as the merriest day in year in (1760: 1:47), presumably referring to merriment of conducting Fools' pranks. In north of England and in Scotland, 1st is called Huntigowk Day and it is day of fool's errand. A person is sent off to deliver letter. When recipient reads letter, he or she tells naive deliverer to take it to someone else who lives-always-farther down road. The letter actually reads, It's first of April! Hunt gowk another mile. Eventually gowk,1 which means cuckoo or simpleton, is sent back to where delivery began, place where friends have gathered to shout April gowk! (Santino 1995:100; Dundes 1989:99). An gowk text collected in northeastern Scotland by Peter and Iona Opie cautions each person who reads letter to keep straight face and thus guard joke: Don't you laugh, and don't you smile; Hunt gowk another mile (Opie and Opie 1959:245; Bundes 1989:99).2 Icelanders make reference to cases of hlaupa april (running April), seemingly derived from Danish lobe april, or fool's errand. The Fools' Day hoax is only valid if victim could be tricked into taking three steps (or, alternatively, crossing three thresholds) before realizing hoax (Bjornsson 1995:110). In France and Italy term Fish (poisson d'Avril; pesce d'Aprile) refers to wide range of ritual pranks.3 The or fool, is often marked by sign of fish (Dundes 1989:102). Confectioners' windows display chocolate fish on 1st, and friends anonymously send each other humorous postcards imprinted with pictures of fish (Spicer 1958:34-35). According to Jack Santino, Poisson d'Avril is still current term in France, and there fish is to Fools' Day what shamrock is to Saint Patrick's Day-the primary symbol of holiday (1995:97). French school children delight in chance to fool their classmates and teachers on first of April, taping cutouts of fish on backs of their clothing. On this day alone fish, or sucker is indeed caught by patient and ensnaring prankster, and put into an awkward situation, like a fish out of water.4 Alan Dundes notes that fish prank is also practiced in Holland, where paper herring is affixed to back of fool's clothing (1989:102). Further north, Swedish pranksters recite following verse on Forsta April: April, April, you silly I can fool you as I wish.(Liman 1985:71) Biblical connections to Fools' Day seem unconvincing (Dundes 1989:101). …