How to celebrate Easter in France

Like Carnival, Christmas and Valentine's Day, Easter is also of great importance in France. Lay country but with strong Christian roots, it boasts many traditions related to Easter Sunday and the weeks before this day.

One of the most important is the chasse aux oeufs.

The "Egg hunt" long-awaited by children is linked to aancient medieval legend. According to tradition, from Holy Thursday to Easter morning church bells must not ring, as a sign of respect for the Passion of Christ. Meanwhile, it seems that the same bells fly to Rome to attend the announcement of the Resurrection by the Pope himself. Returning to France to announce the big event, they drop small chocolate eggs on the ground that children will then have to look for.

Depending on the region, the Easter bells or the Easter bunny hide the eggs for children. In other geographical areas, such as Alsace, it is instead a hare. Also in Alsace, the houses are decorated with flowers, figurines and small twigs with colored eggs. Children also, using grass, moss and leaves, create nests intended for the Easter hare, so that it can fill them with eggs when passing through.

The tradition of Easter eggs in France, then spread all over the world, seems to be linked to the ancient prohibition to consume eggs during Lent, eggs then preserved (and decorated) for Easter celebrations.

The chasse aux oeufs It is therefore an opportunity for families to spend pleasant time together.

For this reason some French municipalities organize egg hunts also very well known. In Paris and its surroundings, I would point out in particular:

• egg hunting in the castle garden Vaux-le-vicomte,rich in animations suitable for adults and children. The cost of the activity is 18 euros for adults, 14.50 euros for the youngest and free for children under 6 years of age;
• the charity hunt organised by the Secours Populaire at André Citroën, for Easter Day and Easter Monday. The entrance ticket costs 6 euros;
• the original chocolate bone hunting, organized by Musée de l’Homme in collaboration with the maitre chocolatier Patrick Roger, for only 5 euros (plus the price of the museum ticket). This activity is accessible from the age of 5;
• a big free egg hunting organized by Galeries Lafayettes Champs Elysées Wednesday, March 27, in collaboration with famous brands such as Alain Ducasse and Pierre Marcolini. The Galeries Lafayette of Boulevard Haussmann, instead, propose the same activity from 30 March to 1 April, from 11;00 to 19;00;
• for Pasquetta Day, an exclusive chasse aux oeufs is organized by food market Happiness, in 13th arrondissement. To learn more, I invite you to Watch this video!

What do you eat for Easter lunch in France?

Let's move on to another very important topic: Food!

As in Italy, in France the strong dish of Easter lunch is definitely lamb. Typical of the Easter period is the gigot d’agneau (lamb leg) or brochettes, That's meat on the spit. There is no shortage then the regional specialties: in Lyon, one "Pascal tours" very similar to the Easter Cake ReimsOn the other hand, it is typical a pie made from meat, mushrooms and bacon.

The South-West, The giant omelettes For Easter. The tradition dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was necessary to consume all the eggs accumulated during Lent.

The village of Haux, near Bordeaux, holds record for the The biggest omelette in the world, enough to feed over 1000 people. According to a legend, Napoleon Bonaparte stopped right in Haux with his soldiers and, appreciating the omelettes that were prepared for him, he ordered the citizens to cook a single large omelette for all his army.

The giant omelettes of Besseres, in the Haute-Garonne department.

Among the desserts, there are chocolate specialties.

In addition to eggs, in France we find cloches en chocolat (bells), les poules (coals) and also chocolate fish, loved by children. In Alsace, region with strong German influences, is widespread the Oschter Lambele or Osterlammel, a lamb-shaped cookie whose dough is very reminiscent of savoiardi.

Originating from Poitou is instead the tourteau daager, a cake without yeast made from goat cheese. In the past it was often used as a wedding gift as a symbol of good wishes and thanks.

The dessert is characterized by a very dark crust, deliberately burned, which contains a very soft dough. It is said that the birth of tourteau daager is linked to a "error" of a cook in the 19th century, who let the dough cook in a hot bread oven, burning its surface. Cutting the burnt dessert, the cook noticed that the inside was cooked to perfection, and that the burnt crust had allowed the dough to cook well without collapsing. That's how all the accidents in the kitchen were!

Which of these traditions has affected you the most? How is Easter celebrated in the countries you live in? Leave me a comment and Joyeuses Pâques From me!