French Easter Traditions: Egg Hunts, Flying Bells, Giant Omelettes and Exquisite Chocolate Creations!

As with most national holidays in France there is still a religious significance to Easter, but it’s also a time for the family to get together and have another big meal. L’Agneau Pascal (traditional Easter lamb) is top of most French menus, and the dinner table will often be decorated with spring flowers and colourful Easter eggs. 

French chocolatiers and pâtisseries really go to town at Easter. Their shop windows can often be seen filled with exquisite and intricate edible creations in a whole range of shapes not just limited to just eggs. Whereas in the UK chocolate is delivered by the Easter Bunny, in France it’s delivered instead by les cloches de Pâques (flying Easter bells). Catholic tradition dictates that church bells don’t ring between Good Friday and Easter Sunday to mourn the death of Jesus, so French children are told that during this time all the bells fly back to Rome. When they return to their churches on Sunday morning they drop off chocolate goodies for the children to find.

Many French children also get to enjoy an Easter egg hunt. This year most will be in back gardens, but when public gatherings start again some towns and villages like to hold larger scale hunts for the community.

One of the more unusual French Easter traditions comes from the town of Bessières in the Haut-Garonne département. Every year 50 volunteers take part in the creation of a giant omelette with around 15,000 eggs! It takes 30-40 minutes to cook! The tradition is thought to date back to a visit to the town by Napoleon. On this visit he was served an omelette which he enjoyed so much, he ordered a giant version to feed his men. Nowadays the spectacle is accompanied by a festival spread over several days. To keep the tradition alive there is even a ‘Brotherhood of the omelette’ and it’s considered a great honour to be made a knight.

Although the French benefit from many public holidays Good Friday is not one of them, so expect the festivities to start at the weekend (except in the Alsace region which refused to give up the national holiday on Friday when it changed from being part of Germany to France).

Happy Easter! Joyeuses Pâques!