What Is La Chandeleur?

Every year on February 2, crêpes are eaten in most French homes!

So it is the perfect time to share my article about La Chandeleur, with an updated link to many addresses in Paris for good crêpes, as new crêperies open every year.

After the galette des Rois, eaten mainly in January, the French food tradition of early February is La Chandeleur.

Traditions and customs of La Chandeleur (Candlemas)

It began as a pagan Roman tradition, the festa candelarum. It later became a religious celebration, marking to the presentation of Christ in the Temple. La Chandeleur is celebrated on February 2, 40 days after Christmas.

But I think most French people no longer associate Candlemas with religion, but simply with a treat: crêpes.

Crêpes carry a lot of symbolism: their round shape and golden color recall the sun, evoking the return of spring after a dark, cold winter.

Some families still keep an old custom: you flip the crêpe with the pan in your right hand while holding a gold coin (a louis d'or, or any coin) in your left. If the crêpe lands correctly in the pan, you will have prosperity all year.

Crêpes or Galettes?

In France, a crêperie offers both savory galettes and sweet crêpes. The big difference is in the ingredients: a galette is made only with buckwheat flour, salt and water, while a crêpe is made with wheat flour, milk, eggs and butter. So for Candlemas, people make crêpes, not galettes.

They are enjoyed with the family, at teatime or for dessert. Crêpes are very easy to make, and in France we often eat them with sugar, jam or the famous chocolate spread. I confess that my favorite is a "Crêpe flambée au Grand Marnier."

I am pretty sure almost every French child has learned to make crêpes, as they are one of the most common after-school snacks in France.

There are thousands of recipes online. I recommend the one by David Lebovitz, a Californian chef who became a Paris-based food blogger, and the one by Clotilde Dusoulier, available in French and in English.

Where to Eat the Best Crêpes in Paris?

Crêperies are everywhere in Paris and in France: like pizzerias, they are among the most profitable restaurants, since the ingredients are inexpensive and the recipes simple. And yet I have often eaten bad galettes and crêpes!

You can eat crêpes all over France, but buckwheat galettes come from Brittany, so many of the first crêperies in Paris were run by Bretons. In Paris, each region tends to have its own neighborhood, and Bretons mostly settled around Montparnasse, which is no surprise: trains from Brittany arrive at Gare Montparnasse. You will find many crêperies in and around Rue du Montparnasse. One of the most famous is Crêperie Josselin 67 rue du Montparnasse, Paris 14

One of my favorite addresses is not in this area but in the Marais: Breizh café, where I think you will eat the best crêpes and galettes in Paris. I am not the only one who thinks so, so I strongly advise you to book. They have also opened in Odéon, Montorgueil and Paul Bert. The company started in Cancale, in Brittany, and also has a restaurant in Tokyo. Fun fact: Breizh is the Breton word for Brittany.

I also discovered an excellent crêperie in the 10th arrondissement, Tanguy. I highly recommend it: they source the best ingredients from Brittany, make their galettes the traditional way, and their prices are very reasonable.

Feel free to leave a comment, and if you make your first crêpes, I would love to hear how it went! 🙂

Traditions and customs of La Chandeleur (Candlemas)

Crêpes or Galettes?

Where to Eat the Best Crêpes in Paris?

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