Since I've been living in the US I have loved to bring my French traditions into my everyday life, but especially on Christmas. If you go to France during Christmas time, you might see some of those traditions at the market, the restaurant, the store, or at someone's house. We have so many traditions, so here is a list of the ones that I love. Sablés (Christmas cookies) In case you don't know it yet, in France we like a lot of butter and not a lot of sugar. Those cookies are vanilla cookies and are very buttery. I have made sablés every year and my family absolutely loves them. In my opinion, they are better than American Christmas cookies (which you don't necessarily eat, but only decorate). These cookies don't usually have frosting, though some people might add some. We eat them on Christmas Eve and Day, but also during the month of December. They are also the cookies we leave for Santa. They can be bought at bakeries and stores, but they taste better when they are made at home. Plus your house will smell like butter cookies for the rest of the day. Santons This is a specialty from Provence (which is where I'm from). Our nativity looks a little different from the traditional ones. Ours is an entire village. The Santons are the characters of that Provencal village. They all have a purpose, and of course there is the typical nativity scene. You can buy them at the Christmas market or at a store that sells them. They can be small and usually made out of clay, but they can also be big, like a doll. Blé de Sainte Barbe On December 4th, everybody in Provence will start planting some wheat and/or lentils seeds on a bed of cotton, usually set up on a little plate. On Christmas Eve, you put it on your table. If it has grown a lot, it symbolizes good fortune for the next year. On the 24th it is put on the Christmas table as part of the decoration. On the 25th we put a yellow and a red ribbon around it. On the 26th we put it by the nativity until the Epiphany (January 6th). It is a fun tradition to do with kids. Christmas markets sell the wheat to use. Chocolate and papillotes Something that I don't always understand with American Christmas is the lack of chocolate. We always offer chocolate to kids and even adults for Christmas. In my family it was a big deal. It doesn't feel like Christmas if we don't have chocolate. If there are any Christmas snacks at some event, chocolate will always be part of it. Also, we often eat some papillotes which are like Christmas crackers. They are made out of chocolate or pâte de fruits (jellied fruit squares). Bûche (Christmas log) We actually have a Christmas cake. It's called the bûche, which is a Christmas log cake shaped. It is sometimes made out of ice cream as well. When it's a cake, it's basically a roll up cake with filling inside and icing on the outside. It can be any flavor you want, but the most common ones are chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, salted caramel, or chestnut spread. Papa Noël Papa Noël is what we call Santa Claus. It means Father Christmas. I have noticed over the years how much Santa is more important to French people over Americans. I'm pretty sure that every kid in France believes in Santa, when in the US, a lot of families don't make it as big of a deal. I have loved believing in Santa as a kid and I love that I can do that with my kids too. Also, Santa gets a glass of milk and some sablés, instead of American cookies. Slippers at the tree On Christmas Eve, we put our slippers by the tree. On Christmas day, we wake up with gifts by our slippers, so we know who they are for. We haven't done that tradition with my kids yet, just because we don't have that much space where we put our tree. Songs I love the French Christmas songs! Some famous ones for kids are "Petit Papa Noël", "Mon beau sapin", "Il est né le divin enfant", and others. I would suggest you to listen to them online. Here is the lyrics for Petit Papa Noël in French with the English translation.
Meals on Christmas Eve and Day We have a lot of food that we typically eat on Christmas. No, there is no turkey or ham. There are multiple options, so here are the ones that I have had when I was little. We had boar (tastes like pork) or a capon (a neutered rooster) as the main meal. For appetizers, we had smoked salmon and butter, lumpfish roe on small toasts, snails, foie gras (duck liver), and oysters. Like I said before, for dessert it was always the Christmas log or bûche and some sablés. We eat a lot during Christmas all sitting around the table for hours. It's actually really fun! Christmas market
I love the Christmas market in France. The most famous one is in Strasbourg and is called the Christkindelsmärik. In Aix en Provence, where I'm from, we also have a very big Christmas market that starts usually at the end of November until December 24th. There you can find a lot of Santons, Christmas treats, warm wine, Christmas decorations and gift ideas. It's so much fun and they are also open at night. They sometimes have a Christmas outdoor festival for kids by the market as well. I love Christmas in France and I think it is so fun to visit this country during Christmas time. It won't be like in the US and you might not find the same traditions that you are used to, but it still feels very much like Christmas in my opinion. Traditions are what makes a country and its culture, and France is rich in it.
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AuthorMy name is Melanie Ashby. I am from France and I currently live in the US. Here are some tips about traveling to France from a French and an American perspective! Archives
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