Spring flowers, a trio of fish and a small child, it must be the 1st April in France, or Poisson d'Avril. The tradition is of children sticking a paper fish on the back of an adult and running away shouting 'Poisson d'Avril' (April Fish). At the beginning of the 20th century it was very popular to send these fishy cards in the post and you can see more, with an explanation of the tradition on
The Daily Postcard. This card was sent to Béthune in Northern France
on 31st March 1911 and no doubt Monsieur Robert Delemaire would smile as he received it on April Fool's Day. I love these wacky cards, I wonder if anyone still sends them.
Postcards for the Weekend theme - odd, fun, humorous - more smiles at
Connections to the World
5 comments:
Hi Joy, It looks like your card is a little bit of each of the key words for this week's theme - odd, fun, humorous. Nice selection!
Funny, I wonder where the connection 1 April/fish originates from. In Sweden we also have the tradition of April Fool's day, and an old rhyme "April, april, din dumma sill" - meaning "you stupid [a kind of herring] fish" (sill rhyming with apri´l)
It seems like a fun tradition.
How interesting! I was playing the scene in my mind and I wonder whether the adults get upset or humored if they get a fish stuck on their back. Thanks for sharing!
That's a brilliant one! I think I might do some April Fool Cards next year.
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