IT'S A CHOCOLATEY WEEKEND

We have quite a collection of chocolate bunnies in our house right now.  Some have already met their demise and have been gobbled up, some have a few parts missing, and others are still safe in their packaging.

And no, we haven't waited till Easter to open them.  Oops! 

There is a cute Peter Rabbit bunny on our kitchen table that I'm hesitant to open, simply because I love the Beatrice Potter story and I'm slow to decapitate such a friendly little bunny face.

Right now, Evie mainly associates Easter with the idea of egg hunts and chocolate goodies. The concept of Christ dying and being resurrected is an almost impossible topic to convey to a 2 year old. (I'm not sure I'm doing the best job of it.)  

We had a quick discussion about the meaning of Easter a few days ago.  Like most toddlers, she loves a good story and enjoyed listening, but I'm pretty sure it will be a while before she truly grasps the idea. I'm open to suggestions if you have any!

I did a bit of research online the other night and stumbled upon a French Easter tradition that I thought was not only fun and appropriate, but might open up a door to other biblical stories that she would enjoy. (This tradition may not be only limited to France, as I have seen some other European countries have similar confections.)

Unlike the typical chocolate shapes sold in other countries, the French have quite a diverse selection of goodies -  including church bells, hens, and little Easter Fish called “Fritures de Pâques” that all have roots to a biblical story in some fashion. 
 

The “Fritures de Pâques” are called “fritures” (fried whitebait) because of their fishy shape and are often filled with friture - a mixture of little chocolates shaped like seafood like mussels, oysters and shrimp/prawns.



Of course, the fish symbol is one that we associate with Christianity. You would think it would be easy to find chocolates in a fish shape here in America. Nope, not so easy, as I have found out recently!

Bells are also immortalized in chocolate of various kinds, especially for Easter. Tradition dictates that no bells are rung on Good Friday or Holy Saturday until the Easter Vigil. 

Legend says that the reason for this is because the church bells went to Rome to be blessed by the Pope and returned, loaded with eggs, on Easter Sunday. The eggs were then scattered in gardens, which explains why Easter egg hunt tend to take place outside on a lawn or garden area. 

I wish the chocolate fish and bells would catch on here in America. Or maybe they already have and I haven't found the right place to purchase the chocolates? I'd try making them myself, but that could be quite the unholy mess!

Either way, I'm inclined to make chocolate fish and bells a new Easter tradition in our house.... if I could just find some!

   Up from the grave He arose; 
 with a mighty triumph o'er his foes; 
 He arose a victor from the dark domain, 
 and he lives forever, with His saints to reign. 
 He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

I have a feeling we'll be singing this during the Sunday service... since it's already an Easter tradition!