Springtime, eggs, bunnies, chocolate, flowers, and family gatherings are all familiar parts of Easter celebrations around the world. What makes Easter in France unique? Between Easter bells, chocolate fish, and giant omelets, explore what makes Pâques (Easter) one of the most important celebrations in France.
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What is Pâques in France?
Easter Sunday is known as Pâques, as is the associated celebration. With its basis in both Catholic and Protestant Christian tradition commemorating the resurrection of Christ, as well as pagan spring festivals, Easter is one of the most important celebrations around the world.
In France, families enjoy a public holiday the next day and take advantage of the time off to gather and eat together. It’s a fun time for families with small children, as it’s a day to share treats, sweets, and fun activities. Symbols of the season mark the transition from winter’s dormancy to spring and the reawakening of life.
When is Pâques?
Easter Sunday is April 20, 2025, which is a relatively late Easter date. The celebration is not on a fixed date on the calendar every year because it shifts according to the dates of the full moon. It can fall between March 22 and April 25, according to the Christian Church calendar.
The date of Easter each year is set on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. March 21 is the ecclesiastical (church-related) spring equinox. The full moon that follows is called the “Paschal” moon, a word formed from the Aramaic for “passover.” The first Sunday after this full moon is Easter Sunday, commemorating Christ’s resurrection from the dead.
Past and future dates of Easter in France
This chart has past, present, and future observances of Easter in France, including Pâques 2025. If you’re planning a visit and would like to participate in some of the French Easter traditions, make note of where the dates fall.
| Year | Date de Pâques (French) | Date of Easter (English) |
| 2020 | le 12 avril | April 12 |
| 2021 | le 4 avril | April 4 |
| 2022 | le 17 avril | April 17 |
| 2023 | le 9 avril | April 9 |
| 2024 | le 31 mars | March 31 |
| 2025 | le 20 avril | April 20 |
| 2026 | le 5 avril | April 5 |
| 2027 | le 28 mars | March 28 |
| 2028 | le 16 avril | April 16 |
| 2029 | le 1 avril | April 1 |
| 2030 | le 21 avril | April 21 |
Other French holidays around Easter
Many other French holidays and celebrations are linked to the date of Easter, including:
- Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday): the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday
- Mercredi des Cendres (Ash Wednesday): 46 days before Easter Sunday, marking the start of Lent
- Le carême (Lent): 40-day period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday (excluding Sundays)
- Les Rameaux (Palm Sunday): The Sunday before Easter Sunday, marking Christ’s entry into Jerusalem
- Vendredi saint (Good Friday): the Friday before Easter Sunday, the day Christ was crucified
- Lundi de Pâques (Easter Monday): the day after Easter Sunday; a public holiday in France
- L’Ascension (Ascension Day): the Thursday that falls 40 days after Easter Sunday
- La Pentecôte (Pentecost): the seventh Sunday, or 50 days, after Easter Sunday
How do they celebrate Easter in France?
While Easter is one of the most important holidays in the Christian tradition, Pâques in France is a popular holiday for all. Traditional celebrations of Easter in French culture range from religious expressions to shops filled with chocolate bunnies and colorful decorations. Lundi de Pâques (Easter Monday), the day after Easter Sunday, is a public holiday in France, so banks, schools, and other services will be closed.
Families often get together on Easter Sunday or Monday for a meal. People may attend mass or services in a local church, watch an Easter procession, or visit a spring market like the one in Colmar.
Families with children bring fun and whimsy to the season with decorations, painted eggs, and sweets. Pastel and citrus colored decorations reminiscent of springtime adorn homes, shops, and entire towns.
French Easter traditions
Many French Easter traditions are similar to those around the world, but there are some traditions that make this holiday uniquely French. If you’re planning a trip to France around Easter, be sure to check schedules for local events, as there will be plenty to experience. And, be sure to learn the expression Joyeuses Pâques ! (Happy Easter).
Religious traditions in France
In France, citizens enjoy the freedom of personal religious belief and expression, with many traditions influenced by the Catholic church, but France is officially a secular country— its laïcité (secularism) is a constitutional principle that emphasizes the separation of religious and public life. As religious traditions surrounding Easter in France have a rich history, they are widely observed in public.
Whether for devotion, tradition, or curiosity, spectators may enjoy processions and parades during Holy Week leading up to Pâques. These feature robed penitents carrying life-size representations of the events leading up to Christ’s crucifixion. One of the more famous reenactments of Le Chemin de Croix (the Way of the Cross) ends with prayers and hymns at the Sacré-Coeur Basilica in Montmartre, Paris.
People may also attend mass at iconic cathedrals like Notre Dame de Paris.
What are the flying bells in France?
While the Easter Bunny brings treats in many other countries, France has a unique delivery system. According to the enchanting custom, all of the church bells leave their posts on Vendredi saint (Good Friday), grow wings, and fly to the Vatican to be blessed by the Pope. On their return, they deliver souvenirs and treats, hidden where the children will find them on Easter Sunday morning. The hunt begins when someone cries, Les cloches sont passées ! (The bells have passed by!)
Accordingly, church bells will not ring between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, as this silent period represents the time that Jesus Christ was in the tomb.
Other activities for children on Easter in France
Easter eggs, decorations, and chocolate bunnies are a treasured part of the childhood experience of Easter in France and other French-speaking countries. Children build nests out of natural materials to hold hand-painted or dyed eggs and craft baskets or containers to hold their treats.
No celebration is complete without La Chasse aux Oeufs (the Easter egg hunt). Families hide eggs and treats for the children at home or attend public egg hunts in community parks or churches. Sometimes, these events include egg-centric games like tossing or carrying raw eggs in races.
Because Easter often falls close to or on April 1st, family and friends play tricks on each other, one being taping a poisson d’avril (April fish), a paper fish, to someone’s back.
Traditional French Easter foods
Family feasts are common on either Easter Sunday or Easter Monday since many workplaces, stores, and restaurants (outside of tourist areas) will be closed that day. If you’re in France near Easter, take the opportunity to learn French, which will help you experience these culinary delights.
French Easter l’agneau (lamb)
The main Easter meal often centers around l’agneau (lamb). A common dish is called gigot d’agneau (leg of lamb). It can be prepared in many ways, including:
- de sept heures (of seven hours): the meat is slow-roasted
- au four (oven-roasted)
- aux flageolets (with white beans): the lamb is served over white beans and flavorful gravy
- en crôute (in crust): the meat is enveloped in a layer of pastry crust
- en cocotte (in a small dutch oven)
- à l’ail (with garlic)
Side dishes include spring vegetables, such as:
- les pommes de terre (potatoes)
- les haricots verts (green beans)
- les carottes (carrots)
- les aspèrges (asparagus)
- les petits pois (green peas)
Families may also enjoy
- le Gâteau de Pâques (Easter cake): a chocolate sponge cake
- le Pain de Pâques (Easter bread): a sweet brioche, sometimes topped with a flower and, of course, chocolate!
Chocolate for Easter in France
Adults visit grocery stores or local chocolatiers to source chocolate eggs, bunnies, and ducks, as well as the uniquely French fritures de Pâques (fish-shaped chocolate candies). The shape of these small chocolate treats is the Christian symbol of a fish. The word fritures in other contexts means “fried food.”
But chocolate is much more than just a children’s treat. Chocolate connoisseurs will select pieces that engage all the senses. Visit an artisan chocolate maker to experience one of the highlights of their year. Chocolate makers proudly showcase their talents through intricate designs, decorations, and sculptures. This chart of French words relating to chocolate is just a beginning.
| French | English |
| un bonbon | a bite-sized chocolate candy |
| une bouchée au chocolat | a larger sized chocolate candy (bouchée means “mouthful”) |
| le chocolat au lait | milk chocolate |
| le chocolat blanc | white chocolate |
| le chocolat noir | dark chocolate |
| un chocolatier/une chocolatière | a chocolate maker |
| une cloche en chocolat | a chocolate bell |
| croustillant | crunchy |
| fourré | filled |
| garni | decorated |
| une guimauve | a marshmallow |
| un lapin en chocolat | chocolate rabbit |
| un oeuf en chocolat | chocolate egg |
| une tablette | chocolate bar |
| une truffe | truffle (chocolate with ganache center) |
Giant omelette in Bessières
Since 1973, the town of Bessières in Southern France has been cooking up une omelette (an omelet) made with 15,000 oeufs (eggs). Using a massive pan in the town square, chefs cook and then distribute the dish to thousands of spectators.
One might say it’s an omelet large enough to feed an army, and they’d be right. Legend has it that years ago, one innkeeper singlehandedly whipped up an omelet for Napoleon’s entire army as they passed through Bessières.
The tradition has since spread to other areas of the world. In the United States, Abbeville, Louisiana boasts an over-5,000-egg “omelette of friendship” each November that requires 52 pounds of beurre (butter), 2 boxes of poivre (black pepper), 50 pounds of oignons (onions), 75 poivrons (bell peppers), and over 6 gallons of lait (milk). They add their Louisiana French flair with 15 pounds of crawfish tails.
Is Easter a good time to visit France?
On Easter Sunday, the main tourist attractions will be open, such as La Tour Eiffel (the Eiffel Tower) and Le Louvre (The Louvre museum), as well as restaurants and bars in highly touristic areas. The weather is variable, with springtime rains expected, but can often be mild and pleasant, depending on how early in the season Easter falls.
Paris feels just as “open” as any other Sunday, but smaller towns may feel much quieter as the locals head home for private celebrations, and many locations may be closed. Public transport may also be running on holiday hours.
Though less crowded than in summer, Easter in France is a peak holiday travel season. The many springtime activities allow for an amazing experience of everything that France is known for as long as you plan ahead.
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Step into the richness that is French culture. A world of celebration and life awaits you when you immerse yourself in French with Rosetta Stone. Learning the basic phrases for travel, dining, small talk, and shopping can have you interacting with French Easter traditions and understanding them at a much deeper level. Go beyond the memorization of vocabulary and verb forms and learn French naturally.
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