Easter in France

Good Friday in France.

Unseasonably cold weather preceded Easter, but Sunday morning the sun came out and it was a beautiful day for hunting Easter Eggs.

In France, there is a story told to the children about the church bells. On the Thursday before Good Friday, all the church bells go silent, because they are all flying to Rome. No church bells are heard until they return on Easter morning,bringing back chocolates and eggs from Rome, which are hidden in the yards and gardens for the children to find.

Our local chocolate store's window.

The candy and chocolate stores are all decorated with chocolate, eggs, bunnies, bells, and fish.
Yes, fish. Chocolate fish are a part of the tradition in France for this time of year. It originates with an April Fool's joke of sending someone off to the market to buy a fish that is out of season and therefore nowhere to be found. The tradition evolved into an April 1st prank by children sticking fish stickers on the backs of unwitting adults.

Chocolate eggs and chocolate chickens in chocolate crates.

The chocolate sculptures can be very impressive, with each store trying to out do the other. Many of the chocolates are works of art that look too good to spoil by eating. Unfortunately, most are too delicate to ship to friends and family back in the states.

Chocolate fish in store window.

Many French families enjoy egg battles as well. Tapping the small end of raw eggs against an opponent to see who has the toughest egg. Cheating has gotten to be a bit of an art as many farmers feed their chickens special feed mixes to increase the thickness of the shell and others shellacking eggs! It's all messy fun.
A traditional Easter meal in France consists of lamb. So, as part of our Easter weekend we went to the local crêperie for lamb served on a kabob with frites (french fries), red wine, and ice cream for dessert (no pumpkin pie). Followed by a cappuccino, of course.
Easter is a three day weekend in Europe. Originally in France the Monday off was not for everyone. It was to allow the servants and those that worked on Easter a day off to be with their families. The rich had their holiday on Sunday and the poorer class got their holiday a day later. Like Boxing Day in Britain. The day after Christmas, servants were allowed to box up the leftovers (after making box lunches for their bosses) to take home to their families.

Happy Easter