Unfortunately we will not be celebrating Easter in France, this year. The photo above is from a visit to Perpignan, two years ago. I couldn’t resist taking a shot of this gorgeous display in a ‘chocolatierie’. It really is a work of art!
When I used to teach French, I always enjoyed covering the cultural aspects of the subject. My students, whether children or adults, liked to learn about Easter celebrations in France.
Chocolate is as important in France, at Easter, as it is in the UK. As you can see in my photo, decorated chocolate eggs and chocolate bunnies are popular but so are chocolate bells.
The Easter bells or les cloches de Pâques are important in France, as it is predominately a Catholic country. During Easter, as a sign of respect, church bells are not rung between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. According to legend, the church bells fly to Rome to be blessed by the Pope. They then begin their journey back to the French churches, collecting eggs on their way before scattering them into gardens on Easter Sunday. This is when the traditional Easter egg hunt begins inside and outside homes.
I hope you enjoy the short video clip which illustrates perfectly the skills of the chocolatiers.
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Wherever you are, I would like to wish you ‘Happy Easter’ or ‘Joyeuses Pâques’.
Image from Pinterest
Fancying France 
I enjoyed this so much. The works of chocolate were amazing. I would have trouble eating them! I want the chocolate chicken. Unfortunately, I now have to be sugar-free, but I would make an exception for some great french chocolate like that. Take care and Happy Easter. Terri
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I’m glad you enjoyed this post, Terri. I’m a huge fan of dark chocolate which, I believe, has certain health benefits! 😋🤣 I’ve read about sugar-free chocolate but I can’t imagine what it would taste like. Happy Easter to you, too.
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Joyeuses Paques tout le monde
I remember being in France one Easter; looking at all of the Easter chocolate in the shop windows occupied a lot of our time! It was always beautifully wrapped in clear cellophane and with very pretty ribbons. Even the chocolate bunnies and eggs in the supermarkets were presented so well. Such a difference to our purple foil wrapped eggs in a gaudy cardboard boxes.
My daughter was still quite small then and is now forty, but she remembers being enchanted by it all. Waking up on Easter Sunday she was thrilled the French Easter Bunny had been and not the English one! She kept the ribbons for some years.
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I do think the French are excellent when it comes to the presentation of pastries, sweets, chocolates etc. How wonderful that your daughter remembers her French Easter! Thanks for commenting and I hope you are having a lovely Easter.
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Lovely June. Happy Easter to you and your family. Marion x
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Thank you, Marion. I hope you are enjoying some fabulous Easter sunshine! June x
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What a fabulous display! Interesting to learn that bells are not rung between Good Friday and Easter Sunday as a sign of respect. Never knew that! Happy Easter. I have just packed all my Passover pots away.
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It was a truly fabulous display! It’s fascinating what one can learn from reading other blogs, particularly when the blogger is in another country, like you!
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I too love dark chocolate and have happily seized upon the fact that it is good for me, though perhaps the idea is NOT that the more you eat the better it is!! Haha.
Loved this post. I have a friend who has an Easter tree (a white twig one) and decorates it each year. As a small child I used to like visiting a shop called the Dutch Pantry where the owner, a Dutch gentleman made the biggest Easter egg – about 4′ tall. The year I went I was so envious of the unknown child who was going to receive it but then my dad told me that it was donated to the local hospital.
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I also have a white twig tree that I decorate for Easter/Spring, complete with egg shaped fairy lights. If only the health benefits of dark chocolate increased with the amount consumed! What a lovely memory to have of the Dutch Pantry.
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