One of the many fascinatinging aspects of Joanne Harris’s magic realism novel, Chocolat, is that although it’s often perceived as being a foodie tale with a strong dash of “pagan” mythologies drawn from a wide range of cultures such as Aztec, Inca, and Roma, the narrative arc is grounded in the Western Christian calendar.

The story begins on Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, and continues through the six weeks of Lent, to reach its denouement at Easter.

The arc is illustrated and expressed through food throughout, from the greasy foods of the Mardi Gras celebration:

“We came on the wind of carnival. A warm wind for February, laden with the hot greasy scents of frying pancakes and sausages and powdery sweet waffles cooked on the hotplate…”

concluding with the chocolates and eggs that have become synonymous with Easter:

“…an amazement of riches, glacè fruits and marzipan flowers and mountains of loose chocolates of all shapes and colours, and rabbits, ducks, hens, chicks, lambs, gazing out…with chocolate eyes…and above it all a statue of a woman, graceful brown arms holding a sheaf of chocolate wheat, hair rippling…The wheatsheaf woman smiles very slightly, as if contemplating mysteries.”

Getting in the Chocolat spirit…

The wheatsheaf woman (if you’re wondering) is Eostre, the Germanic goddess of dawn, who presided over the spring equinox celebrations and gave her name to the Christian festival of Easter, which superseded her worship.

The name Lent also refers to spring, being derived from the Old English term, læncte, which referred to the season’s lengthening days.

Chocolate spice biscuits continue the theme.

Of course, it’s all the opposite here in the Southern Hemisphere, where Easter is an autumn rather than spring festival. 😀

A galette, but a little more autumnal than Chocolat’s Mardi Gras.