The Crêpe vs. The Groundhog...

It's La Chandeleur today, which means it's crêpe eating day in France. Not that you really ever need an excuse to eat crêpes here, but doing so today could bring your family prosperity for the coming year.

And like Groundhog day in the States, the weather conditions today could predict whether or not we have to suffer a longer winter or are just weeks away from an early Spring. Here are some old sayings related to La Chandeleur:

A la Chandeleur, l'hiver cesse ou reprend vigueur.

Chandeleur couverte, quarante jours de perte.

Rosée à la Chandeleur, hiver à sa dernière heure.

Si le jour de la Chandeleur il fait beau, il y aura du vin comme de l'eau.

It's pretty gray and rainy today, but warm, so your guess is as good as mine what that means. I'm pretty sure there won't be any shadow spotting today though.

So I'll make the little ladies some crêpes for lunch, although traditionally I think you are supposed to eat them after 8 pm. You are also supposed to hold a coin in one hand while you flip the crêpe in the pan with the other hand. If you have a successful flip, you are in the money, apparently. If it lands on the floor, you might as well just go ahead and file for bankruptcy.

Not sure how the coin flipping will come into my crêpe making though. As you can see in the photo, I'm a cheat crêpe maker. I use a gadget which produces 6 small but perfectly formed crêpes at the same time. The flipping part isn't quite as treacherous as it would be if you were using a pan, so I'm not at the same risk of losing the crêpe on the floor. Will it still count?

I'd much rather be eating crêpes today than standing out in a prairie waiting for a groundhog to appear, and I'm hoping the whole flipping prophecy is a little more reliable than depending on the fickle temperament of a fuzzy rodent.

But I think it's my duty as an American in France to invent a tradition which combines the two holidays. Like saying if the groundhog can come out of his hole and whip up a batch of crêpes, then summer will start immediately.

Or maybe I could perfect a recipe for groundhog flavored crêpes...