In a marked deviation from Easter festivities elsewhere, Easter celebrations in Franch incorporate the Easter symbols of bells and fish instead of the traditional bunny. The French Easter fish are called Poisson d'Avril which means "April Fish". The Poisson d'Avril makes his appearance on April 1st as French children delight in playing a kind of 'April Fool's' trick. They stick a paper fish onto the back of as many adults as possible.
Cloche volant or Flying Bells are another important part of the French Easter tradition. French Catholics believe that on Good Friday all the church bells in France fly to the Vatican in Rome carrying with them the misery and grief of those who mourn Jesus' crucifixion on that day. These flying bells return on Easter Sunday morning and bring with them lots of chocolate and eggs. In keeping with the tradition, French church bells do not ring from Good Friday to Easter morning.
An old French custom is a contest of rolling raw eggs down a gentle slope--the surviving egg was the victory egg and symbolized the stone being rolled away from the tomb of the Christ. As for kids, they play a game in which one had to throw eggs up in the air. The first one to drop it lost.
