It may be hard for Americans to believe, but in France, no one has ever heard of the Easter bunny.  Does that mean poor little French children go candy-less on Easter Sunday?  On the contrary!  In France, Easter chocolate is bestowed by a giant bell.

I have to admit, I didn't really believe this story until I saw the big golden bells in the windows of all the Chocolatiers near me.  Apparently, all the church bells in France leave their posts every year on Good Friday, and head for Rome to chat with the Pope!  Once this little conference is over, they return to France to ring on Easter Sunday, bringing candy and presents home with them.  

Of course, that’s not the whole story. There is also the mystery of the Easter fish.  In addition to bells, I saw a strange number of chocolate fish in all the Easter displays around town.  I did some research, but from what I can tell, no one is exactly sure why fish turn up on Easter in France. Some suggest it might have something to do with Lent, but isn’t the whole point of Easter that Lent is over and you can stop with the fish already? Others say the fish are left over from April Fool’s, but there isn’t any clear explanation what fish have to do with April 1st either. Is it something to do with Pisces? With the Gregorian calendar? With procuring prostitutes? I can’t tell.

What I can see, however, is that French fish apparently lay eggs from a large orifice near the gills.