French figures: The magical bells that bring chocolate
Church bells perform lots of serious and historic functions, but in France they have an extra, seasonal, job.
You will be likely to hear church bells a lot in France - except for one very special day of the year.
On Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, church bells across France fall silent.
And the reason for this - so the country's children will tell you - is that the bells have all flown off to Rome to be blessed.
But it's what happens on the bells' return journey that makes the children particularly interested in this story. The legend goes that as they travel back from Rome, the bells distribute Easter chocolate to children across the country, in much the same way as the Easter Bunny does in Anglophone countries.
READ ALSO How to have a traditional French Easter
This is why, at Easter time, you will see lots of chocolate shaped like bells in the shops, as well as chocolate eggs, bunnies and chicks.
This article is part of The Local France's 2020 virtual advent calendar - every day until Christmas we will be presenting you with a person or object that has a particular significance to life in France.
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You will be likely to hear church bells a lot in France - except for one very special day of the year.
On Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, church bells across France fall silent.
And the reason for this - so the country's children will tell you - is that the bells have all flown off to Rome to be blessed.
But it's what happens on the bells' return journey that makes the children particularly interested in this story. The legend goes that as they travel back from Rome, the bells distribute Easter chocolate to children across the country, in much the same way as the Easter Bunny does in Anglophone countries.
READ ALSO How to have a traditional French Easter
This is why, at Easter time, you will see lots of chocolate shaped like bells in the shops, as well as chocolate eggs, bunnies and chicks.
This article is part of The Local France's 2020 virtual advent calendar - every day until Christmas we will be presenting you with a person or object that has a particular significance to life in France.
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