Why do we say that the bells will pass?

During the three days before Easter, the bells stop ringing as a sign of the arrest and death of Jesus on Good Friday. The day before Easter, Holy Saturday is also called the day of “great silence”. Children are told that they fly to Rome to be blessed by the Pope before returning loaded with sweets. Their melody resonates again on Easter Sunday, after mass, to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Their chime is for the little ones the promise of finding chocolate eggs in the garden or on the balcony when they return from the ceremony.

The tradition of rattles

To make up for the absence of bells, it was once customary to use rattles to announce the Angelus and masses. These small medieval wooden instruments are operated using a crank and cause a loud, ungraceful noise, appropriate during this period of mourning. From Maundy Thursday until Holy Saturday, the children traveled through the village during prayer times. This old tradition is still alive in certain towns in the Grand-Est.