Cascarones

This is our third Easter in France. I will say the chocolate is beautiful sometimes almost to beautiful to eat. Another thing I have learned over the years is that the little eggs are always filled with a praline center. Not really my thing. Give me a mini snickers or jelly belly jelly beans and I'm happy. Of course I would never turn down a Cadbury egg either. I found them at the American Store here and I'm hoping they still have them in stock when I get there tomorrow. The point is even though we are in France I still want them to grow up with the same traditions that I did.

No matter what country you're from the story is still the same, Jesus died on the cross and three days later he rose again. The French stop all church bells the Thursday before Good Friday to acknowledge Jesus' death. The tradition was to tell the children that all the bells flew to Rome to see the Pope. On Easter morning the bells ring again to show that Jesus has risen. The parents tell the children that when the chimes returned from Rome they brought the eggs and chocolate with them.

I'm good with this, but in Texas we take those eggs and smash them over each others heads. This tradition of course came from Mexico, but after a bit of research I found it started in Italy. So, without further ado I'm bringing it to France.

Last year I could not find egg dye. This year I found it! They were all German brands and the dying is done with cold water, so it was perfect to let them do it by themselves.

Three minutes and they were done.

Three minutes is a lifetime when you are four.
Jaylee got creative.

While they dried, we cut old magazine pages.

There was more than one conversation on WHY, they had to be so small.
Little Miss Frenchie, had to put them in one at a time.
Kept him busy for maybe three minutes and then left us for his cars.

She found this part to be painfully slow.

Then she found my Japanese tape.

So, all my Texas peeps who just walk straight into HEB and buy them in a nice little pack of twelve, think of us in France doing it old school!! While you're at the the super sized store with large isles I hope you throw in a package a tortillas, reese's peanut butter cups, peeps, jelly beans, starburst and of course the nice little bag of fake grass, that I beg my florist for each year and she every so kindly smiles at the strange American.
Cheers.

* No idea why that is underlined.