French Expression of the Day: Les cloches volantes
les cloches volantes?
Because you might hear this expression used quite a lot during Easter weekend in France.
What does it mean?
Les cloches volantes
–
roughly pronounced lay closh voe-lahn – translates precisely to 'the flying bells' in English, and they are a part of French Easter tradition.
In the United States and United Kingdom, the Easter bunny (
lapin de pâques
or the
lievre (hare) de pâques
) is responsible for bringing colourful chocolate eggs to children. In France, you might see a chocolate rabbit in bakery windows here or there, but the real tradition has to do with flying bells, as the Easter bunny actually hails from Germany (which is why you might see it in the eastern areas of France close to the border).
In France, legend goes that the church bells stay silent on the Thursday before Easter because they grew wings and flew to the Vatican to be blessed by the Pope.
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Over the weekend, on Good Friday and Saturday, the church bells do not ring, but on Sunday, when
les cloches volantes
return to France, they bring along plenty of goodies for well-behaved children — namely chocolate eggs.
And then during the church services of Easter Sunday, the bells go crazy once again in celebration of Jesus' resurrection.
Use it like this
Les cloches volantes t'ont-elles apporté des petits cadeaux cette année ?
– Did the flying bells bring you any little gifts this year?
Les églises sont silencieuses ce samedi car les cloches volantes sont à Rome.
– The churches are silent this Saturday because the flying bells are in Rome.
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