Joyeuses Pâques!
‘Joyeuses Pâques!’ is how we say ‘Happy Easter’ in French. Like Christmas, the religious celebration has become a time for family get-togethers and children’s games. Chocolate eggs, rabbits and bells are all part of the celebrations of this springtime holiday.
Easter is also a religious celebration to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection; it remains the most important celebration in the Christian calendar. From Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter, Church bells are silent as a sign of mourning. French legend has it that the bells fly out of their steeples to go to Rome, and return on the morning of Easter Sunday bringing colourful chocolate eggs to homes across the land. This year, Easter Sunday falls on 20th April and many Christians will attend Mass in the morning to commemorate the Resurrection. However, before going to Church, French children will wake up full of excitement to begin hunting for colourful chocolate eggs all over the house and in the garden.
Nowadays in France, Easter is mostly spent with family; lunch is usually a traditional Gigot d’Agneau and children look for chocolates that their parents have hidden all over the house. It’s a lovely day and all the family can join in with the egg hunting. You could say Easter is a sort of ‘mini-Christmas’ as it is holiday spent with relatives; the only real difference between the two seasonal celebrations is that at Easter, bells bring chocolate eggs and at Christmas, Santa Claus delivers presents. Of course, France is a country of chocolate lovers and renowned chocolate makers such as Jacques Génin and Patrick Roger.
Like in the UK, Easter Monday is a bank holiday in France. However, although Good Friday is a bank holiday in the UK, this is not the case in France! Fortunately, children can enjoy their school holidays and as Easter takes place in spring, the weather is already lovely in France.
If you would like a family getaway base for the Easter holidays, Sextant Properties may have just the thing for you. We are pleased to present this fabulous chalet with a lovely garden (perfect for an Easter egg hunt!) and lots of living space (making the hunt even more fun for children). The weather here is mild at this time of year. Situated in the French Alps, not far from the Swiss border; you could try both French and Swiss chocolate.