The Monday following Easter Sunday, observed as a public holiday throughout France. Religious services occur, but the day is primarily spent with family enjoying traditional meals of roast lamb and chocolate eggs. Museums and monuments in Paris and other cities often remain open, making it popular for tourism. Most shops and businesses close.
📜 History & Origins
Easter Monday's roots trace to the Christian celebration of Christ's resurrection, with the date of Easter set by the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE as the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. France observes the Monday after Easter Sunday as a public holiday, a tradition originating in medieval religious processions and codified under the Napoleonic Concordat of 1801, which recognized certain Catholic feasts as state holidays.
🎉 How It's Celebrated
In a distinctively French tradition, church bells fall silent on Good Friday and are said to 'fly to Rome', returning on Easter Sunday to drop chocolate eggs, bells, and bunnies into gardens for children to hunt. This legend of the cloches de Pâques replaces the Anglo-Saxon Easter Bunny across most of France. Families gather for a grand midday meal, and municipalities host Easter egg hunts (chasses aux œufs) in parks and public gardens.
🍽️ Traditional Foods
Roast lamb (gigot d'agneau), typically served with flageolet beans, is the classic Easter main course, symbolizing the paschal lamb of Christian tradition. Chocolate eggs, bells, fish, and hens are exchanged in abundance, reflecting both religious symbols and the return of spring.
