"Christmas Traditions in France."

Christmas in France is a family holiday. The celebrations begin on December 5, which is St. Nicholas Eve. It is a day for gift-giving between friends and relatives. On that cold night, children leave their shoes by the hearth so Pere Noel, or Father Christmas, will fill them with gifts.

Christmas Eve is the most special time in the French celebration of Christmas. Church bells ring and voices sing French carols, called noels.

The family fasts all day, then everyone but the youngest children goes to midnight mass. The churches and cathedrals are beautifully lit, and most display a lovely antique creche. Afterward, the family returns home to a nighttime feast that is called le reveillon. The menu is different in the various regions of France. In Paris, it might be oysters and pate, while in Brittany, the traditional midnight supper is buckwheat cakes and sour cream.

A few days before Christmas, the family sets up a nativity scene, called a creche, on a little platform in a corner of the living room. Some families also decorate a Christmas tree with colorful stars, lights, and tinsel, but the creche is much more important.

The tradition in Provence, in the south of France, is to include, along with the Holy Family, the Three Kings, the shepherds, and the animals, delightful little figures from village life dressed in old-fashioned costumes. These figures might include a village mayor, a peasant, a gypsy, a drummer boy, and other colorful characters. Another tradition in Provence is for people to dress as shepherds and take part in a procession that circles the local church.

To complete the elaborate creche in their home, children bring moss, stones, and evergreen branches for the finishing touches. When the candles are lit, the creche becomes the centerpiece of the Christmas celebration. The children gather around it to sing carols every night until Epiphany, on January 6.

Christmas plays and puppet shows are popular entertainments at Christmas, especially in Paris and Lyons. The shop windows of large department stores have wonderful displays of animated figures that families like to visit.

If any children did not leave their shoes out to be filled with gifts by Pere Noel on St. Nicholas Eve, they leave them out on Christmas Eve to be filled by Pere Noel or the Baby Jesus. Before going to bed, some families leave food and a candle burning, in case Mary passes by with the Christ Child. In homes that have a Christmas tree, Pere Noel hangs little toys, candies, and fruits on the tree's branches for the sleeping children.

On Christmas Day, the family goes to church again and then enjoys another abundant feast of wonderful dishes, ending with the traditional buche de Noel, a rich buttercream-filled cake shaped and frosted to look like a Yule log.

On New Year's, grown-ups visit their friends to exchange gifts with them and enjoy yet more feasting at the New Year's reveillon. The family gathers together again for a final feast on Epiphany on January 6. They eat a special flat pastry, a galette, that has a tiny old-fashioned shoe, a very little china doll, or a bean baked in it. Whoever finds the prize in their serving gets to be King or Queen for the day. As church bells ring, the celebration of the Christmas season comes to an end.

"Christmas Traditions in France."

Decorations

The Christmas tree - sapin de Noel is usually decorated a few days before Christmas or on Christmas Eve, many families in France also have traditional nativity scene or créche, which is made up of clay figurines called santons or little saints.

Children

Instead of a Christmas stocking, it's traditional in France for children to place their shoes in front of the fireplace in the hope that Father Christmas or Papa Noel will fill them with small gifts. Originally clogs were placed by the fire, which is why it's common to see chocolate clogs in many patisseries.

Bad children get a visit from Pere Fouettard who apparently delivers spankings. In some Northern regions le pére Noel visits on the eve of St. Nicholas (December 6th) and returns again on Christmas eve.

There was also a French law passed in 1962 which decrees that all letters posted to Santa must receive a reply in the form of a post card.

Family

An important part of Christmas for many families in France is Midnight Mass called la Messe de Minuit on Christmas Eve. Following this, there is le Réveillon, a late supper feast. The dishes vary from region to region - in some areas oysters are traditional, while in Burgundy, it's traditional to serve chestnuts and turkey.

Bûche de Noël

The Bûche de Noël or Yule log is very popular and is traditionally made with chocolate and chestnuts. It is served all through Christmas.

Gifts

Small presents are generally given to children on Christmas Eve, but main gifts and cards are exchanged on New Year's Day.

New Year

New Year's Eve is called la Saint-Sylvestre and is celebrated with another feast, le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre. Traditional foods include foie gras and champagne. At midnight it's traditional to to kiss under the mistletoe and exchange wishes and new years greetings.

New years day, le Jour de l'An, is a time for friends and families to exchange presents and cards.

Epiphany

Epiphany (6th January) marks the end of the festive season and is celebrated with a special cake called la galette des rois or the cake of Kings. Family and friends gather in each other's homes to enjoy the cake, inside of which is a trinket or fève, which is supposed to bring good luck and fortune for the year ahead. Whoever receives the portion containing the trinket is crowned King or Queen for the rest of the day and is honored by the rest of the family.

Happy Christmas in French - Joyeux Noel

Happy New Year - Bonne Année!