“Pesce d’Aprile” (April Fish) in Italy

For Italians, the first of April marks the celebration of

“Pesce d’Aprile” (April Fish), and antics are very similar to those we know for April Fools’ Day. Practical jokes and hoaxes are common across the country on 1 April, but why is there a fish in the name of the Italian day?

[Why a fish? Best guess is that this has something to do with Pisces, the zodiac sign for April, which is a fish.]

Apparently the traditional prank for Pesce d’Aprile involved the taping of a cutout of a small fish (pesciolino) to someone’s back. Then the exchange would go:

L’hai visto? (Have you seen him?)

Chi? (Who?)

Il pesce d’Aprile! (The April fish/fool!