French Easter Traditions - Paques

In France, Easter is called Paques and Shrove Tuesday is referred to as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. In France, church bells ring joyfully during the year. But the bells stop ringing on the Thursday before Good Friday. They are silent for a few days while people remember the death of Jesus. On Easter Sunday morning, the bells ring out, telling people that Jesus is alive again. When people hear the bells, they kiss and hug one another.

Easter is celebrated in France much as it is in America, with cultural customs with rabbits, chocolates and eggs and various religious ceremonies commemorating the rebirth of Jesus. Roman-Catholic is the predominant religion in France is (90%). In France no city, village or town is without a church. A surprising number of the churches date back to the twelfth century or before.

Most churches have a bell, which is rung joyfully throughout the year marking various events and the passage of time. In France all church bells are silenced on the Thursday before Good Friday, in acknowledgement of Christ's crucifixion. They are rung again on Easter Sunday in celebration of his resurrection. In fun, children are told that the bell's chimes have flown to Rome when they were silenced on the Thursday before Easter Friday to see the Pope and fetch their eggs.

Early on Easter morning, French children rush into the garden to watch the bells "Fly back from Rome." As the little ones are busy scanning the sky for a glimpse of the returning bells, their parents and grandparents hide chocolate eggs.

The French allot a three-day weekend which they usually use to spend time with family. Schools (or at least two of the three regions over France) and universities tend to allocate the second spring holiday (two weeks for each of them) around Easter. England normally only has the one centred around Easter.

Easter typically marks the start of the "high" season for tourists, and accommodation prices rise accordingly. Easter is the start of a spring of holidays with three (often more often four) day holidays in May when the celebratory day falls on a Tuesday or Thursday and everyone takes Monday or Friday off as well.

In France chocolate eggs look more like works of art than anything edible. They are truly amazing. Lots of people stroll along the avenues peering into the shop windows as if they are at a museum or art show.

At Easter the chocolatiers also display chocolate fish or poisson d'Avril which are enjoyed throughout the entire Easter season first appearing in shops on April 1st. The French equivalent of April fools is when children try to stick paper fish on to the back of as many adults as possible running away squealing "Posson du Avril" - April Fish not April Fool.