This religious event, celebrated on February 2nd, commemorates the presentation of Jesus at the temple. It is a very popular date for French people. Not because French people are very religious people but because French people are not surprisingly... food lovers ! La Chandeleur is indeed the occasion to gather with family and/or friends and eat some delicious crêpes.
The crêpes' recipe is very easy and vary according to the gourmets tastes. Flour, eggs, milk, water and butter are the main ingredients but orange flower, rhum, beer (yes, yes it is delightful and makes the crêpes even lighter), lemon or orange zest... can also be added to perfume the sweet ones. The game is to flip the crêpe in the air and succeed to make it land properly in the pan!
The crêpes can be accompanied with Chocolate spread, sugar, confiture (fruits marmelade), salted-butter caramel, lemon, chantilly. There is for every taste!
It is said that the tradition to eat crêpes at the beginning of February was initiated by the farmers to use the extra wheat before starting a new harvest. The belief was that if they flipped their crêpe with the right hand, while holding a piece of gold in the left one, and succeeded to make it land properly, it would give them wealth and luck. Putting the first crêpe into a wardrobe would ensure the next harvest to be good.
Brittany, renown to be the crêpes country, is the perfect place to celebrate this event... although Candlemas is almost everyday there. The Galette; the local salted crêpes made out with buckwheat; can be enjoyed in one of the many local crêperies.
So, why not initiate this tradition at home for your friends and family? very easy and everybody will be extremely pleased ! Buy a flat plan, prepare your own recipe, customized it with whatever you like and.... enjoy !! :-)
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