Christmas in France

In early December a friend in the States mentioned that she’d like to see me write a post about how the French celebrate Christmas, et voilà, here it is. Different parts of France have their own traditions, and this post is about how people celebrate here in the Midi region of the South of France.

A start to the season
The photo above is from the light show and Christmas market in nearby Béziers. It has become a bit of a tradition with my group of friends to kick off the holiday season with an evening there, strolling among the lights and pointing excitedly like delighted young children.

---

Setting the scene
Every Christmas I look forward to seeing the new design for the painted windows at a nearby supermarket. Twice each year, they hire a local artist and her assistant to paint seasonal designs on the entry windows. They always do a lovely job of it. This year’s Christmas mural is all white.

---

Where is baby Jesus?
My first year here, my neighbor Michèle invited me into her house to see her crèche (nativity scene). It was set up on the large sideboard in her dining room, and it was elaborate. In one section, she poses figures on an ancient piece of delicate flocked paper that had belonged to her grandmother (!), and she also goes out into the garrigue to collect pieces of fresh moss for other parts of her crèche. This a labor of love.

Michèle proudly pointed out each figure and explained who it was, but there was one figure missing. “Where is baby Jesus?”

She gave a knowing smile and gently opened a drawer in the sideboard, revealing the swaddled figure of a baby, comfortably nestled on a soft, satiny cushion. She told me that on Christmas Eve—La Veille de Noël—she attends midnight mass, and then comes home to place Jesus in the middle of the scene.

This was all new to me, and I was fascinated. But I did know enough to notice that there was no sign of the Magi, the three kings or wise men. I was tickled to have another puzzle piece click into place when she told me that the Magi don’t arrive until Epiphany, which is 6 January.

There are a great many ways of creating a nativity scene, including the crèche vivante, or living nativity, in which humans act out the scene. Here are two home crèches belonging to local friends.

---

How to celebrate?
I’ve been living here for a few years now, and typically my Christmas season includes events with both my French friends and my Anglophone friends. Even though I do have a sense for how the locals would prefer to celebrate the holiday, I asked three people—all native to this region—to give me their summary of how Christmas is celebrated in their families.

One person said that Christmas Eve—Réveillon de Noël or La Veille de Noël—is the time to go outside the home, perhaps to see the lights or to see friends, perhaps to attend midnight mass. The day itself is for being at home, with the family, enjoying a long feast together.

The other two people told me that both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are for the family only, while New Year’s—often called Saint Sylvestre—is the time to celebrate with friends.

The next thing after family is no surprise: food! La Bouffe ! It is a major event to go to the market to find all the best ingredients: foie gras, turkey, oysters, boudin blanc (white sausage), and of course, la bûche de Noël (yule log). Everyone stressed that the most important aspect of Christmas is to be together, enjoying good food and good conversation with one’s family.

The Christmas tree—le sapin de Noël—is also important. The traditional decorations include simple colored balls and garlands (either string lights or paper garlands). In earlier times, it was common to decorate the tree with apples, pine cones and candles. Today, it is more common to see candy canes, figurines, and on top, either a star or an angel.

Christmas stockings are for small, simple things like candy, and aren’t always used.

---

For Christmas Eve, a few of us drove into Narbonne, where we met other friends to explore the Christmas market, admire the light show, greet Santa Claus (Père Noël), and finally to see the animation projected onto the side of the medieval cathedral. It very windy and cold, so the vin chaud and roasted chestnuts were especially welcome.

---

Parting shot
It was late October, and I had gone to one of the more giant of the giant supermarkets in our region. I walked in to find that about a third of the back half of the store was already chock-full of Christmas stuff. It was a shock. Then I spotted this display of adult-sized … elf dresses? Words are failing me, but I definitely had to grab the photo!

---

---