Poisson d' Avril

Ha ha, Teacher

Get it?  Well, I didn't. Browsing around the web for vintage April Fool's cards, I ran across all sorts of French pictures of funny fish. 

I found out the story goes like this. Apparently France changed its old calendar system in 1564,  moving the start of the year from the end of March to January like everyone else.  But those who stubbornly clung to the old calendar system and continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1st had jokes played on them.  Pranksters would surreptitiously stick paper fish to their backs.

The victims of this prank were called Poisson d’Avril, or April Fish—which, to this day, remains the French term for April Fools—and so the tradition was born.

Welcome April, the most magical month of the year.  Spring, flowers, Easter.  Here's some wild and wacky postcard greetings. Don't get fooled (or fished) today!