ONLINE VACATION
CHRISTMAS IN FRANCE
12/27/13
Hi Everyone. On today's vacation, we are traveling around France. I
know Christmas is over, but I thought you might enjoy seeing the
lights and learning about Christmas in France.
The French word for Christmas is Noël which comes from the Latin word
natalis meaning birth date.
The run-up to Christmas in France features advent calendars, towns and
villages bedecked in lights, tinsel and all things shiny, Christmas
trees and le Père Noël (their version of Santa Claus). It is not
customary in France to send cards although some people do these days
and you will find a small selection of highly priced Christmas cards
in the shops.
Although France is a catholic country, French law dictates that the
state and religious activities are completely separate and as a result
state schools offer no religious education. Most French children miss
out on the rite of passage of sticking a tea towel on their head and
pretending to be a shepherd in the nativity play. The children in
private Catholic school do take part in a nativity or crèche vivante.
The priest reads the Christmas story from the Bible and the children
parade in as shepherds, fisherman and, believe it or not,
dancing girls.
One big French tradition is that of the Christmas market. The biggest
of the Christmas markets is Strasbourg which holds its annual
Christkindelmärik (that’s Alsatian for Christmas market). In fact, the
event is billed as not one but twelve markets and is a Christian
festival dating back as far as 1570. Each year, a guest country is
invited to join the festivities.
Christmas markets now take place in most cities in France throughout
December and feature stalls selling Christmassy gifts and food. You
can always buy a vin chaud and a crêpe or gaufre (waffle) too. In
Perpignan, chalet style stalls appear along the river and a miniature
ice rink is erected under the ancient Castillet, the building which is
the city’s symbol.
Strasbourg also lays claim to be the birthplace of the tradition of
the Christmas tree. According to the city’s official website, in the
middle ages, the Alsatians played ‘Games of Paradise’ which depicted
the history of creation and always featured a fir tree covered in
apples in front of the churches. The custom of having a small fir tree
in the home quickly spread and these were decorated with apples and
Alsatian biscuits. One year when apples became scarce, glass blowers
produced glass apples and thus the Christmas bauble was born and
spread around the world in the late 19th century.
The night before Christmas is called le réveillon in France, which comes
from the verb réveiller meaning “to wake up” (confusingly, the same
term is used for New Year’s Eve, and the two are often used without
the qualifying du Nouvel An or de Noël). Traditionally, Christmas Eve
is when the French have their big Christmas meal, although many people
are now having another big Christmas meal at lunchtime on Christmas
Day. Throughout December, specialty shops and supermarkets sell
all the Christmas delicacies for the big celebration meal(s)
including foie gras, oysters, snails and the bûche de Noël (Yule
log). The centrepiece of the meal will be a capon, goose or turkey
stuffed with chestnuts and served with a variety of trimmings
including boudin blanc (white pudding).
Christmas celebrations are brought to a close in France on the 6th of
January at Epiphany. This is the celebration of when the three kings
first saw the baby Jesus. While in some countries this day passes
almost unnoticed, in France it is celebrated by everyone with the
galette des rois (cake of the kings). You will see these in every
bakery and supermarket in France throughout January.
A galette des rois is a flat cake of puff pastry filled with marzipan.
Traditionally it contains a fève (originally a dried bean, now more
often a small toy). The tirage des rois is loved by the kids. The
youngest person goes under the table as the cake is cut and dictates
who should receive each slice. The person who finds the fève in their
slice becomes king for the feast/day and gets to wear a crown and
choose their queen.
I hope you enjoy this trip and learning about Christmas in France.
~Marsha~
Père Noël
****************************************
ALSACE, FRANCE
FRENCH MARKET
****************************************
AMIENS FRENCH MARKET
****************************************
AVIGNON, FRANCE
****************************************
BESANCON, FRANCE
****************************************
CHAMPAGNE FRENCH MARKET
****************************************
COLMAR, FRANCE
****************************************
DINAN, FRANCE
****************************************
DUNKERQUE, FRANCE
****************************************
GRENOBLE, FRANCE
****************************************
LAVAL, FRANCE FLOATING PYRAMIDS
****************************************
LE HAVRE, FRANCE
****************************************
LILLE, FRANCE
*****************************************
MEGEVE, FRANCE
***************************************
MONTPELLIER, FRANCE
****************************************
NICE, FRANCE
****************************************
PARIS, FRANCE
GALERIE LAFAYETTE DEPARTMENT STORE
ICE SCULPTURE
FRENCH MARKET
NOTRE DAME CATHEDERAL IN PARIS
RECYCLED PLASTIC BOTTLE TREE
*****************************************
PERPIGNAN CASTILLET
*****************************************
PETITE, FRANCE
*****************************************
PRAGUE, FRANCE
*****************************************
SAVOIE, FRANCE
*****************************************
STRASBOURG, FRANCE
******************************************
TOULOUSE, FRANCE
******************************************
VILLE DE NANCY
*****************************************
UNKNOWN CITIES
*****************************************
Paraphrased from CHRISTMAS IN FRANCE
know Christmas is over, but I thought you might enjoy seeing the
lights and learning about Christmas in France.
The French word for Christmas is Noël which comes from the Latin word
natalis meaning birth date.
The run-up to Christmas in France features advent calendars, towns and
villages bedecked in lights, tinsel and all things shiny, Christmas
trees and le Père Noël (their version of Santa Claus). It is not
customary in France to send cards although some people do these days
and you will find a small selection of highly priced Christmas cards
in the shops.
Although France is a catholic country, French law dictates that the
state and religious activities are completely separate and as a result
state schools offer no religious education. Most French children miss
out on the rite of passage of sticking a tea towel on their head and
pretending to be a shepherd in the nativity play. The children in
private Catholic school do take part in a nativity or crèche vivante.
The priest reads the Christmas story from the Bible and the children
parade in as shepherds, fisherman and, believe it or not,
dancing girls.
One big French tradition is that of the Christmas market. The biggest
of the Christmas markets is Strasbourg which holds its annual
Christkindelmärik (that’s Alsatian for Christmas market). In fact, the
event is billed as not one but twelve markets and is a Christian
festival dating back as far as 1570. Each year, a guest country is
invited to join the festivities.
Christmas markets now take place in most cities in France throughout
December and feature stalls selling Christmassy gifts and food. You
can always buy a vin chaud and a crêpe or gaufre (waffle) too. In
Perpignan, chalet style stalls appear along the river and a miniature
ice rink is erected under the ancient Castillet, the building which is
the city’s symbol.
Strasbourg also lays claim to be the birthplace of the tradition of
the Christmas tree. According to the city’s official website, in the
middle ages, the Alsatians played ‘Games of Paradise’ which depicted
the history of creation and always featured a fir tree covered in
apples in front of the churches. The custom of having a small fir tree
in the home quickly spread and these were decorated with apples and
Alsatian biscuits. One year when apples became scarce, glass blowers
produced glass apples and thus the Christmas bauble was born and
spread around the world in the late 19th century.
The night before Christmas is called le réveillon in France, which comes
from the verb réveiller meaning “to wake up” (confusingly, the same
term is used for New Year’s Eve, and the two are often used without
the qualifying du Nouvel An or de Noël). Traditionally, Christmas Eve
is when the French have their big Christmas meal, although many people
are now having another big Christmas meal at lunchtime on Christmas
Day. Throughout December, specialty shops and supermarkets sell
all the Christmas delicacies for the big celebration meal(s)
including foie gras, oysters, snails and the bûche de Noël (Yule
log). The centrepiece of the meal will be a capon, goose or turkey
stuffed with chestnuts and served with a variety of trimmings
including boudin blanc (white pudding).
Christmas celebrations are brought to a close in France on the 6th of
January at Epiphany. This is the celebration of when the three kings
first saw the baby Jesus. While in some countries this day passes
almost unnoticed, in France it is celebrated by everyone with the
galette des rois (cake of the kings). You will see these in every
bakery and supermarket in France throughout January.
A galette des rois is a flat cake of puff pastry filled with marzipan.
Traditionally it contains a fève (originally a dried bean, now more
often a small toy). The tirage des rois is loved by the kids. The
youngest person goes under the table as the cake is cut and dictates
who should receive each slice. The person who finds the fève in their
slice becomes king for the feast/day and gets to wear a crown and
choose their queen.
I hope you enjoy this trip and learning about Christmas in France.
~Marsha~
Père Noël
****************************************
ALSACE, FRANCE
FRENCH MARKET
****************************************
AMIENS FRENCH MARKET
****************************************
AVIGNON, FRANCE
****************************************
BESANCON, FRANCE
****************************************
CHAMPAGNE FRENCH MARKET
****************************************
COLMAR, FRANCE
****************************************
DINAN, FRANCE
****************************************
DUNKERQUE, FRANCE
****************************************
GRENOBLE, FRANCE
****************************************
LAVAL, FRANCE FLOATING PYRAMIDS
****************************************
LE HAVRE, FRANCE
****************************************
LILLE, FRANCE
*****************************************
MEGEVE, FRANCE
***************************************
MONTPELLIER, FRANCE
****************************************
NICE, FRANCE
****************************************
PARIS, FRANCE
GALERIE LAFAYETTE DEPARTMENT STORE
ICE SCULPTURE
FRENCH MARKET
NOTRE DAME CATHEDERAL IN PARIS
RECYCLED PLASTIC BOTTLE TREE
*****************************************
PERPIGNAN CASTILLET
*****************************************
PETITE, FRANCE
*****************************************
PRAGUE, FRANCE
*****************************************
SAVOIE, FRANCE
*****************************************
STRASBOURG, FRANCE
******************************************
TOULOUSE, FRANCE
******************************************
VILLE DE NANCY
*****************************************
UNKNOWN CITIES
*****************************************
Paraphrased from CHRISTMAS IN FRANCE
Information paraphrased from CHRISTMAS IN FRANCE
This is a MelloMarsha creation
I do not take credit for the pictures
Thanks to the respective photographers
12-26-13
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