Celebrating Crêpe Day in France – La Chandeleur

1st row – savory buckwheat crêpes, sweet crêpes, crêpe pan

2nd row – heating up the crêpe, savory crêpes – hubbie's ham and my veggie

3rd row – cider (a must with crêpes), sweet dessert crêpe with chestnut/hazelnut/banana filling

Yesterday, February the 2nd was crêpe day in France, otherwise known as la Chandeleur. You can see how we celebrated it in the collage above. And yes, we were lazy and bought our basic crêpes instead of making them. There's not much to the actual recipe, but getting a paper thin crêpe just right requires an expertise I do not possess and as my husband, the household's designated crêpe maker, wasn't in the mood to make them this year, we cheated. 

I first found out about this holiday twenty some odd years ago. My husband and I weren't married at the time and I was feeling very homesick, having just moved to France two months prior. I guess he thought a day devoted to crêpes would cheer me up.

'Tomorrow is la Chandeleur!' he announced.

'What's la Chandeleur?'

'It's crêpe day,' he replied, beaming. 'And I'm making us chocolate ones!'

That got my attention. A day devoted to crêpes, seriously? 

'Is this like a real holiday? Not a Hallmark made up so you buy a card day?'

'No, no.' He shook his head. 'It's real. It's a French thing.'

I guess he was right about it cheering me up. I thoroughly enjoyed his chocolate crêpes and twenty years later I'm still here.

La Chandeleur in Christianity, like its English counterpart Candlemas, represents the day the infant Jesus was presented at the temple. In many Christian denominations, candles are brought to churches and blessed on this day for use throughout the coming year.

The crêpe connection is attributed to the 5th century Pope Gélase Ier who offered crêpes to hungry pilgrims participating in Candlemas processions. But, the origins of la Chandeleur predate Christianity to ancient pagan rites celebrating the fertility of the earth. The thin, round golden cakes, made with the remains of last year's harvest,  represented the light and the sun and the return of good weather.

Whatever its origins, I welcome any excuse, all year round, to have a good crêpe!