My goodness! Aerial photos of Notre-Dame de Paris after the fire (image sourced from the cathedral's Facebook page)
Another religious and folk Easter tradition uses chocolate eggs and rabbits as symbols

Text and photos by Chen Chi-Hsiang. Today is Western Christianity’s annual Easter, a day commemorating Jesus’ resurrection. Devout Catholics and Christians across Europe and the globe joyfully welcome this major festival. On this special day, believers gather in churches large and small for religious ceremonies—praying for the Holy Spirit to bless the nation and its people. The crisp, alluring bell rings following these solemn rituals are particularly moving every year.

Notre-Dame de Paris, having just suffered a catastrophic fire, lost its entire roof and became a collapsing ruin, now off-limits. Believers suddenly felt abandoned, forming a tragic scene of scattered birds and beasts. As the world’s most beautiful cathedral, it symbolized French glory and served as Parisians’ protective sanctuary. It was the core of collective faith and consciousness for the French,condenseing national emotion and identity, and a holy site for pilgrims worldwide. This Easter, facing the desolate beauty consumed by fire, devout French believers and global pilgrims were filled with sorrowful lamentation and silent mourning.

For the first time in centuries, Notre-Dame could not fulfill its role in uniting the nation during religious festivals. This year’s grand Easter ceremony was relocated to Saint-Sulpice, Paris’s second-largest church. Reconstruction efforts are massive; perhaps only after several years will we hear Notre-Dame’s alluring bells again. Most touching today was the simultaneous ringing of bells in all Parisian churches, their sound reaching the skies, awakening religious sentiment and uplifting hearts. The patron saint of Paris—the Virgin Mary—will forever remain imprinted in people’s souls. Easter, symbolizing rebirth and hope, highlights its significance.

Easter folk traditions feature chocolate eggs and rabbits. Round eggs signify birth, completeness, and eternity; rabbits represent fertility and vitality, implying endless life, perhaps also metaphorically suggesting the spring when the earth awakens and everything renews. Easter is also France’s spring holiday. Besides attending mass for blessings, children delight in egg hunts. Parents hide chocolate eggs or bunnies in gardens or home corners, creating fun parent-child activities searching for eggs. Easter has become a chocolate-eating holiday; giving chocolate is appropriate. It is also viewed as a family reunion festival.