easter bells

Apparently, the Easter Bunny does not visit children here in France.  I'm not saying that the Easter Bunny does not exist.  No worries.  Of course s/he does.  Just not here in France.  So, no easter basket filled with candy and toys on Easter morning.  Check.


In France, to mourn the death of Christ, the church bells stop ringing on Good Friday.  They say that the bells have flown off to Rome, perhaps to visit with the Pope.  When the bells return on Easter morning, they ring to celebrate Christ's resurrection.  And, they bring chocolate with them.  From Rome.  So, I guess we'll head straight out to the garden on Easter morning to see what chocolate is hidden there.  Cool!

easter bells

It will be very interesting decorating eggs this year.  All of the eggs here are brown.  My American friend Tia mentioned this to me and said she wondered what brown eggs would look like, colored.  I told her the eggs will look just the same, just uglier.


There are no plastic eggs here in France.  Isn't that refreshing?  Of course, I searched and found some plastic ones, filled with Play-Doh.  You know, to hide around the house just for fun.  :)


Also, there is no ham here for Easter dinner.  Sure, they sell ham in France.  But not maple glazed, spiral cut ham.  What they sell here is more like prosciutto.  Or else it is sliced really thin, like for sandwiches.  No whole hams here.  So, I will be making lumpia and an asparagus tart, something like this:

two year old asparagus tart

And, I am contemplating making lamb, although I've never made that before.  If you have an easy recipe, please send it my way!


On Easter, we will be headed into Paris for a Message Paris Easter Egg Hunt.  Since the Easter Bunny does not come here to France, this network of English-speaking parents that I belong to has decided to hide eggs for our kids to find.  It should be a lot of fun!


In honor of Easter, here is the only joke I know in French (which is actually a joke for English speakers):


Qu'est-ce que c'est la Pâques?


C'est une bonne idée.  (Bunny Day, get it???)


à bientôt!