The celebration of Christmas in France varies by region. Most provinces celebrate Christmas on 25 December, which is a bank holiday, but many people start celebrating on Christmas Eve, 24 December.
In eastern and northern France, the Christmas season begins on 6 December which is la fête de Saint Nicolas.
In some provinces la fête des Rois (Epiphany) – on 6 January – is one of the most important holidays of the Christmas season. This is traditionally when the coming of the (Three) Wise Men is celebrated. A Galette des Rois is eaten – a round cake which is cut into pieces and distributed by a child, known as le petit roi or l’enfant soleil, hiding under the table. Whoever finds la fève – the charm hidden inside – is King or Queen and can choose a partner.
When we lived in Switzerland, we had a funny thing happen at church on the Sunday nearest Epiphany. Communion bread that day happened to be a ‘galette des rois’ (there being nothing else available in the bakery). As the bread was passed round the congregation, one lady found that she had a little plastic king in her mouth, along with her bread! The laughter rippled down her row as people realised what had happened.
In Lyon, 8 December is la Fête de lumières, when Lyonnais pay homage to the virgin Mary by putting candles in their windows to light up the city.
French children put their shoes in front of the fireplace, in the hopes that Père Noël will fill them with gifts. Candy, fruit, nuts, and small toys will also be hung on the tree overnight.
le Père Noël
Although fewer and fewer French attend la Messe de Minuit (midnight Mass) on Christmas Eve, it is still an important part of Christmas for many families. It is followed by a huge feast, called le Réveillon – which is a symbolic awakening to the meaning of Christ’s birth and is the culinary high point of the season, which may be enjoyed at home or in a restaurant or café that is open all night.
Each region in France has its own traditional Christmas menu, with dishes like goose, chicken, capon, turkey stuffed with chestnuts, oysters, and boudin blanc (similar to white pudding).
Christmas desserts include la bûche de Noël (Yule log) – a log-shaped cake made of chocolate and chestnuts.
The sapin de Noël (Christmas Tree) is the main decoration in homes, streets, shops, offices, and factories. Another important aspect of French Christmas celebrations is the crèche (manger) filled with santons (little saints). The crèche is displayed in churches and many homes. The little figurines (les santons) are produced in the Provence region of France and traditionally there are 55 of them in a crèche, depicting various characters from typical Provençal village life.
© Guillaume Piolle / CC-BY-3.0
Living crèches in the form of plays and puppet shows based on the Nativity are commonly performed to teach the important ideas of Christianity and the Christmas celebration.
When we lived in Switzerland, we had a living crèche at church one year, complete with sheep, donkeys etc. from the local farms!
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Aw! Very complete article! It’s good to see that someone talks about something they know! A lot of French people don’t even know about the St Nicolas.