April Fool's Day originated in France when children would play pranks on each other after the calendar changed and New Year's Day was moved to January 1st from April 1st. Common French pranks included putting paper fish in others' backpacks and yelling "poisson d'avril". American traditions involved telling others their shoelaces were untied, claiming geese were nearby, or falsely saying school was canceled. College students would also reset each other's clocks as an April Fools' prank. April Fool's Day is meant to be fun and harmless practical jokes.