Wherever you are in the world, chances are there will be some type of celebration occurring at the beginning of April. Here in the U.S., it’s not April Fools’ Day without pranks! Friendly, lighthearted jokes can bring some fun to the office as long as they’re not too mean. Not all April Fools traditions involve pranks, but they all come from the same spirit of revelry and mischief. Check out some April Fools traditions around the world:

 

France and Italy

 

In France, they call it Poisson d’Avril, or April Fish. That’s because children will tape a picture of a fish on their friends’ backs and wait for them to realize it’s there. We guess you have to be there to get the joke.

 

Scotland

 

Traditionally, April Fools’ Day was called Huntigowk Day, with “gowk” meaning cuckoo or a foolish person. People were sent on the pointless errand to deliver a sealed message that read “Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile.” This told whoever read the message to keep the prank going by sending him on another errand.

 

India

 

The Holi festival, celebrated on March 31st, is a day when people play jokes, throw colored dust at each other, and wear face and body paint to welcome spring. Sounds kind of like Mardi Gras!

 

Portugal

 

Here people throw flour over each other, like a bake-off gone wild. Actually it sounds kind of cathartic for anyone who can’t help but get messy when baking cookies.

 

We don’t know about taping pictures of fish on your coworkers’ backs or throwing flour on them, but at least we know that everyone is having a good time on April 1st! What’s your favorite prank?