FRENCH HOLIDAYS-APRIL FOOL’S DAY (LE POISSON D’AVRIL)

AND BASTILLE DAY

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BONJOUR!

Hello! I’m Pierre the Fish, or as the French say, Pierre le Poisson! I’m going to teach you all about April Fool’s Day in France, or as we say, Le Poisson d’Avril (April Fish) and another French holiday, Bastille Day!

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In this presentation, we will look at the history of both holidays and how they are celebrated today in France. Choose which holiday you want to start with and click the corresponding button below!

April Fool’s Day(Poisson d’Avril)

Bastille Day

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HISTORY OF APRIL FOOL’S DAY The year used to end in March, and

April 1st was the start of the new year. In 1564, King Charles IX changed the

start of the year to January 1st.

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HISTORY OF APRIL FOOL’S DAY At this point in time, it was hard to

communicate and let everyone know about the calendar changes.

Some people were unaware of the calendar change and some people refused to change.

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HISTORY OF APRIL FOOL’S DAY People would stick paper fish on the backs of

those people who still celebrated the new year on April 1st.

The victims of these pranks were called “Poisson d’Avril” which translates to literally mean “April Fish”.

This was the start of April Fool’s Day, and people all over the world now play these sorts of pranks.

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PRANKS

People in France often play pranks relating to fish on April Fool’s Day.

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COMMON PRANKSOne common prank is when people stick paper fish on the backs of their friends and family.

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COMMON PRANKSPeople will also call their friend on the telephone, ask them to hold, and then once their friend gets back on the phone, they ask their friend if they’ve had any “bites”.

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COMMON PRANKSPeople will also trick their friends into calling fish shops or aquariums. (Don’t try this one!)

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BRAINSTORM 3 COMMON APRIL FOOL’S DAY PRANKS THAT WE PLAY IN AMERICA.

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HOW ARE THEY SIMILAR TO THOSE IN FRANCE?

HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT?

Bastille Day Quiz

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You’re all done learning about April Fool’s Day. You can choose to learn about Bastille Day, or if you’ve

already done this, you can go ahead and take the quiz!

Now let’s learn about Bastille Day!

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BASTILLE DAY

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Bastille Day is celebrated on the 14th of July and is similar to our 4th of July in the United States.

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HISTORY OF BASTILLE DAY The Bastille was a French prison, but

the building no longer exists. On July 14, 1789, people stormed the

Bastille to mark the end of the monarchy (a monarchy is a government ruled by the king).

This marked the start of the French Revolution.

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HISTORY OF BASTILLE DAY It was declared an official holiday on July 6,

1880. It symbolized the birth of the Republic (a

republic is a different form of government where there is not a monarch and people have more control over the government).

The storming of the Bastille is similar to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in America.

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HISTORY OF BASTILLE DAY

“La Marseillaise” is the French national anthem and was written in 1792, not very long after the storming of the Bastille.

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HISTORY OF BASTILLE DAY

Here is a video of “La Marseillaise” in French. The French and English lyrics are listed. You only need to listen to the first two minutes of the song.

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CELEBRATING BASTILLE DAY It is similar to our 4th of July celebration

in America. On Bastille Day, in France, there are

many major public events including Parades Dances Balls Musical Performances Fireworks

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THINK ABOUT THE 4TH OF JULY IN AMERICA. GIVE ONE WAY IT IS SIMILAR TO FRANCE’S BASTILLE DAY.

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BIEN FAIT!WELL DONE!

April Fool’s Day (Le Poisson d’Avril)

Quiz

Now you can either go back to review April Fool’s Day or go on and take the quiz.

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QUESTION 1

True

False

CORRECT! BIEN FAIT!

Without today’s technology, it was harder to communicate and tell people about these changes.

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SORRY, THAT’S NOT RIGHT!

Without today’s technology it was harder to communicate and tell people about these changes, so many people weren’t aware of the new calendar.

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QUESTION 2

A. March 1st

B. December 31st

C. April 1st D. September 2nd

CORRECT! BIEN FAIT!

The new year used to start on April 1st.

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SORRY, THAT’S NOT RIGHT!

Hint: Think about the name “April Fish.” Try again!

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QUESTION 3

A. Poisson d’Avril

B. Jokesters

C. April Fish D. A and C

CORRECT! BIEN FAIT!

The victims of April Fool’s Day jokes in France are called “Poisson d’Avril” which is French for “April Fish.”

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SORRY, THAT’S NOT RIGHT!

Hint: Think about what the victims of April Fool’s Day are called in both French and English! Try again!

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QUESTION 4

A. June 4th

B. July 14th

C, December 12th

D. July 4th

CORRECT! BIEN FAIT!

Bastille Day is celebrated on July 14th!

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SORRY, THAT’S NOT RIGHT!

Bastille Day is not celebrated that day. Try again!

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QUESTION 5

True

False

CORRECT! BIEN FAIT!

When people stormed the Bastille, that marked the start of the French Revolution.

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SORRY, THAT’S NOT RIGHT!

When people stormed the Bastille, that did actually mark the start of the French Revolution.

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GREAT JOB! YOU’VE COMPLETED THE ACTIVITY!

Now, it’s time for us to celebrate “Le Poisson d’Avril.” Log off the computer and cut out two paper fish. Tag two people in the class with them, and make sure they haven’t noticed you got them! Then, come find me and tell me the names of the two people you tagged.

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SOURCES http://www.cactuslanguagetraining.com/us/french/vie

w/beware-the-poisson-davril/ http://www.francetravelguide.com/april-fools-day-in-france-le-poisson-davril.html

http://french.about.com/od/culture/a/bastille-day.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K1q9Ntcr5g http://

www.timeanddate.com/holidays/france/bastille-day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_IX_of_France http://www.clker.com/clipart-fish-8.html Google Images