Easter Monday in France 2024

Joyeuses Pâques! Easter Monday in France

Easter Monday has been a public holiday in France since 1886. This holiday, like other Easter days, is called the short word "Paques".

Easter or Angel Monday

Most of the celebrations related to Holy Week are days devoted to reflection and remembrance of Christ's martyrdom. The first joyous day comes at Sunday, It is the day connected to celebrations of the ressurection of Christ. After this comes Easter Monday, which is devoted to the further rememberance of the fact, that Savious is risen. To underline this, in the Catholic Church, Easter Monday is also called Angel Monday. The name comes from a reference to a passage from the Bible:

"Then the angel said to the women in reply, ‘Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” (Matthew 28:5-7)

Chasse aux Oeufs: a custom for young and old

French Easter Monday is a day of chasing eggs. Easter eggs are first buried in various nooks of forests or parks. Then the children go in search of these eggs. This custom is called the Easter egg hunt (Chasse aux Oeufs). If the weather is bad, the eggs are hidden inside the house. And if you want to diversify this habit even more, you use eggs painted with fluorescent paint and wait for the fun to start until dark. Interestingly, a similar activity is also organized by business owners. The role of children is taken over by employees who look for eggs during office events. Eggs are hidden in drawers, behind screens and wherever you least expect them. As part of the celebration of Easter, some French companies recommend renting a chocolate fountain to the office. It can be white, milky or bitter. It is recommended to provide an additional platter with fruit that can be dipped in chocolate.

Easter picnics in the suthern France

There is an interesting way of spending Easter Monday in France. Frenchmen organize huge picnics, to which they invite not only members of the family, but also friends. The traditional dish which accompany them is an omelette. But why? Something has to be done with all these colored eggs. The Easter omelette is called "paquette". Another variant of the dish consumed during a picnic is a soup gazpacho, which is eaten with a special bread called mouna. This kind of bread is baked especially for Easter. The picnics are traditionally accompanied by the flying of kites made of reed and crystal.

Tradition associated with an even larger omelette

On Easter Monday, the knights of the World Brotherhood of the Giant Omelette (Confrérie Mondiale des Chevaliers de l'Omelette Géante) appear in Bessières north of Toulouse. It is an organization founded to prepare the world's largest dish of its kind. Members of the association have a 400 kg tin pan on which they prepare an omelette of 15,000 eggs each year on Easter Monday. The fraternity gathering is part of a larger event. As for the omelette itself, it is distributed to all participants of the fair.

Customs in other countries

There is a nice tradition associated with the celebration of Easter Monday in Hungary. The boys visit the girls to sprinkle them with perfume. It is supposed to bring good luck. As a reward for their efforts, the girls reward their guests with Easter eggs. Hungary has another custom a little like this, but definitely unpleasant. Young men immerse the lady they like or they actual sweetheart in a pond. The day is called Ducking Monday because of the custom. Easter Monday in the UK is associated with yet another occassion for flirting. Instead of perfume, there is a chair in the center of the celebration. They are decorated with flowers and carried from house to house to be seated on it and lifted up three times to guarantee happiness. Boys carrying a chair thus earn money or kisses.