France has some of the best Christmas markets in Europe. Wooden shacks selling food and drink, wooden toys, scarves, bags and jewelry line the streets, big wheels and ice rinks attract families and the cafes, bars and restaurants do great business. It is particularly attractive to Brits who flock to the Canal to northern French cities to stock up on Christmas items, wines and spirits while enjoying the party atmosphere.
Lights
The French have always been particularly good at producing grand- et-lumières shows: light and sound shows that play on the facades of their great cathedrals at Christmas. The idea has taken hold everywhere. In 2013, the city of Le-Puy-en-Velay, one of the main starting points for medieval pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, began to illuminate its strange buildings that crown the pinnacles of volcanic rock, and Le Puy It is a small city compared to the big cities of Amiens or Avignon.
One of the best sound and light shows takes place each year in Lyon on the weekend closest to December 10, when the Fête des Lumières takes over the city for a 4-day extravaganza. All the most important buildings and statues are illuminated with swirling colors and spectacular light effects. It is an international attraction; If you want to go, you will have to book your accommodation well in advance, and its restaurant, as well as Lyon, is the gastronomic capital of France. But the origins of the festival of light are serious, they date back to 1852 and it is a tribute to the Virgin Mary.
Cathedrals and Churches
Many cathedrals and even small churches are especially illuminated at Christmas, even if they do not have spectacular sound and light shows, and most of them have towering Christmas trees, either outside or in the nave. Venture inside and you will always find a nursery that represents the birth of Jesus. Some are life-size, while others are modest. Most are filled with santons, hand-painted terracotta figures still produced in Provence.
For a true holiday feeling, head to Sélestat, between Strasbourg and Colmar, in the heart of Alsace. The picturesque town attracts at Christmas with its 10 decorated fir trees suspended from the arches of the nave in the church of St-Georges.
Streets and Squares
Walk the streets, alleys and squares of any French city and the night air is sweet with the smell of wood smoke as the fire burns in the bars. If you could see inside, you would see food and drink, excluded in case Mary and baby Jesus come during the night.
The Feast of Saint Nicholas, the fiesta of San Nicolás
For eastern and northern France, December 6, or the feast of Saint Nicholas, marks the beginning of the Christmas season. It is particularly significant in Alsace, Lorraine, Nord-Pas de Calais and Brittany. If a family follows a strict tradition, it is story time, for the kind of fairy tales that keep young children awake at night. The best known stories of three children who get lost are lured by a butcher to his shop and salted in a large barrel. But happily, of course, St.
Nicholas intervenes and rescues them. The story explains why Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of children, while the butcher became the evil Père Fouettard who will beat up children who have been naughty or tell Saint Nicholas that they should not receive gifts on December 6. , the snitch.
The kids take out their shoes at night in front of the fireplace for the inevitable chocolates and gingerbread to fill them up in the morning.
Decorations in france
Come to France in winter. Like most European countries, the main decoration in the houses and in the streets is the fir or sapin de Noël. The inspiration for the tree originally came from Alsace, with the first recorded mention of a Christmas tree appearing in a document dating from 1521 on display at the Bibliotheque Humaniste in Sélestat. The manuscript describes a payment of 4 shillings to the warden of the forest to protect the fir trees from felling from St. Thomas’s Day on December 21 until Christmas Day.
The trees were first decorated with bright red apples, a reminder of Adam and Eve’s fall from grace. From the end of the 16th century, flowers such as roses, made of multi-colored paper decorated the trees, followed by metallic decorations to give the impression of silver and gold.
Christmas tree traditions spread across France since the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, when the people of Alsace moved across the country, taking their traditions with them. Today, no self-respecting people or family does not have one.
Dec. 24
In France, as in much of Europe, Christmas Eve or Le Réveillon is an important time. While many people have given up going to midnight mass at the local church, they still follow the tradition of a large party that is held late into the night, either at home or in a restaurant. If you want to get an idea of what is on offer, go to any supermarket or food store in a French city. The displays are extraordinary: whole foie gras, oysters, fruit baskets, geese, capon and more.
French party
Food on Christmas Eve has to be tasted to be believed. You eat course after course of fish, oysters, meat, and somewhere in France, 13 different desserts. It is quite an event and with good reason in a country whose gastronomic tradition has been recognized on the UNESCO cultural heritage list.
December 25th
Christmas Day is, unsurprisingly, rather a quiet affair, given the excesses of the night before. Some families go to church in the morning, walk into their favorite bar or cafe, and then go home. Most of France closes that afternoon as the French have another good lunch and then sleep all day.
So if you are in France for Christmas, just remember to wish everyone a ‘ Joyeux Noël ‘.
