Nativity Scene of Notre-Dame in December 2016 © French Moments. Take a ride on it and admire the fine stained-glass windows of the St. Etienne church. These are Amazon’s best-selling travel products that you may need for coming to Paris. The giant Advent wreath inside Strasbourg cathedral © French Moments. Main cities of France would decorate their streets with repetitive and plain Christmas decorations. They usually decorate the Christmas table and are an essential element of Christmas traditions in France. The holly (, Exchanging vows: les vœux de la nouvelle année. As part of this Christmas tradition in France, everyone has to taste each dessert in order to have good luck for the upcoming year. Did you know? Welcome back to the French Moments blog! Wait! FREE (50) Cbrocheriou Christmas vocabulary. My favourite crib was that of Notre-Dame… alas we’ll have to wait at least a decade before the end of the restoration work. The Christmas tree is decorated some time before Christmas Day, so there’s plenty of time to be ready for Christmas Eve when Santa Claus comes. I love strolling by the banks of the River Seine at night time for all the lights and monuments to see. Le Reveillon includes traditional French Christmas foods such as oysters, foie gras, turkey and chestnuts, duck, caviar, escargots, smoked salmon, scallops, lobster, Bûche de Noël and of course plenty of wine and champagne. Nativity Scene in Alsace © French Moments. Read more, The Saint-Nicolas village on place Charles III, Nancy © French Moments, With its rich display of Christmas lights, the is certainly one of the most beautiful Christmas markets I’ve ever visited! My two favourites are the Place d’Armes (and its ferries wheel) and the medieval Place Saint-Louis. We really enjoy the French Christmas traditions, which is why we’ve spent so many holiday seasons in France. French Christmas Season. ? Christmas lights in Wissembourg, Alsace © French Moments. Réveillon vs Christmas Day. Read more, Christmas market of Montbéliard © French Moments, You’ve probably heard about Annecy and its lake with turquoise water at the foot of snow-capped mountains. Read more, The Obernai Christmas Market © French Moments. The royal square of Place Stanislas is adorned with a giant Christmas tree. 11. Shoes in front of the fireplace. It has now become a very important tradition in the region. Many Christmas traditions have been secularized: Santa Claus, Christmas trees, presents… Yet for more than a thousand years, the 25th of December has been first and foremost about Christian tradition. L5 + L6 À Moi Paris Method - Upper Intermediate 4.97 (72 reviews) US$ 119.99 US$ 95.99. Here’s an overview of the rituals that cast magic over the Christmas holiday. The reconstituted Alsatian village with its half-timbered houses is beautifully decorated with Christmas trees everywhere! Nowadays they are a delicious French Christmas tradition, sold massively in shops at the end of each year. Pin it for later! However there are a number of places I really enjoyed visiting when I’m in the French capital in December. Colourful wrapping paper and the tradition of buying more expensive gifts developed in line with an increase in American influence at the conclusion of the Second World War. The ‘king’s cake’ celebrates Epiphany in France. The “cradle of the Christmas tree” boasts a rich architectural heritage. ? 50 Beautiful Photos Of Rural France To Cheer You Up! An old tradition is that the log was carried into the home on Christmas Eve and sprinkled with red wine to make the log smell nice when it was burning. But more recently some would say there has unfortunately been a large amount of commercialisation of the idea of Christmas markets. The poinsettia originally grew in Mexico where it was known as the “, Mistletoe and holly – le gui et le houx de Noël, The legend goes that when Jesus and his family fled Egypt, the soldiers of Herod where about to catch them. You’ll find around one hundred articles about French culture and traditions in this section of our French blog. Overview: Christmas in Alsace is a warm and magical experience. Nativities (with life-size statues of the characters) and plays have been displayed in public places for centuries. The fine half-timbered houses that border the place du Marché provide an enchanting scene for this festive event. 5. French Culture and Traditions. People hang it above the door during the Christmas season, where it is supposed to bring good luck during the the coming year – so where is the kissing? Your choices will not impact your visit. Chat. All French Christmas markets find their origins in Alsace. The food, the lights, the traditions–it’s easy to understand why they call it the most wonderful time of the year. Or for the careful attention to the chalets and product display. "CHRISTMAS IN ALSACE - a Photographic Journey"
Sometimes, Père Noël’s donkey is substituted by seven magical reindeer who pull his sleigh, which is in fact an American tradition. Christmas is coming soon! The 6 January is a day to celebrate the arrival of the Three Kings. Christmas lights in Obernai © French Moments. For example in Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Orléans, Besançon, Rouen, Dijon, Reims, Annecy, Grenoble, Lille, Arras, Béthune, Lyon, Nice, etc. So same Christian traditions, right? Christmas is a time for celebration and thus the French indulge in luxury food and delicatessen. Photo. The great Christmas tree of Place Kléber, Strasbourg © French Moments. That pretty much ends the long list of French Christmas traditions, but that doesn’t mean the Season’s festivities are over.. Learn how your comment data is processed. Liked it? You can of course change your mind and withdraw your consent at any time, by returning to this site after clearing the cookies on your computer or device. These “traditions” are all fairly recent. Depending upon which region of France you're in and your religious beliefs, the holiday season starts at different times. Contrary to the traditional nativity, the Provençal nativity mingles biblical characters (Mary, Joseph, the donkey and the ox, the three wise men) with typical Provençal villagers (the town crier, the poacher, the old man and woman: Grasset and Grasseto, the washerwoman, etc…). What’s your favourite? Let’s put it that way: Paris is not my favourite place to be for its Christmas markets. There’s no holiday color-coding. Christmas Presents - Les Cadeaux de Noël. On Christmas’ Eve, the midnight mass is part of the French traditions of Christmas. “Père Noël” (Father Christmas) is Santa Claus in France. ? If so we’d love to hear about them in the comments below, have a lovely festive weekend and see you next week! Christmas Tree – usually a fir tree of some kind. ► Read more about the French traditions of Christmas in Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comté. 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