A French Christmas | Blogmas 2017

Hey Merry Readers,

For those of you who don't know much about me, I grew up in a little French village (those who do know me, stop yawning, I see you). Whilst I continued to celebrate Christmas in a very British way, I was a little shocked at first when I found out that my friends at school didn't celebrate the festive time in the same way. Obviously, Every household was filled with sweet treats, a Christmas tree, decorations, and even Santa Claus/Father Christmas (Le Pére Noel).

1. Les Cadeaux de Noël
It is a tradition in England (please correct me if I'm wrong ) that presents arrive from Father Christmas arrive after we have fallen asleep on Christmas Eve, and opened on Christmas Day when most families exchange the rest of their presence as well. My French school friends did not have to go to bed early on Christmas Eve. In fact, they got stay up very late indeed and Pere Noel would deliver their gifts to them in person, and they would be allowed to open them on the eve of Christmas. This wasn't a one-off and most of my classmates had the same tradition, their families would make it a party which would continue into the early hours, or attends the Midnight Mass at Church.

2. Le Réveillon
A modern Christmas dinner varies from household to household nowadays, but the traditional Christmas dinner would usually contain a turkey with stuffing, veg, and roast potatoes, essentially a glorified Sunday Roast Dinner. However, my lovely French friends didn't quite understand why the English tradition is to eat a common bird on the religious day. They instead would opt for a few more courses than the optional 3 -that you or I am used to- and Fish was a must at the Christmas table. The meal was of course eaten on the Eve of Christmas, It's Known as Le Révellon.

3, Les Marchés de Noël
This is more so when I was growing up, the Christmas markets I had been to in England whilst I was a child were usually in town halls etc and were handmade crafts, cards, and decorations. The Christmas Markets in France were similar in the Villages, but once you hit the City they had already adopted the modern lavish Christmas market tradition long before they came over to England.

4. Christmas Plays,
In my English primary school, I was in the Christmas play every year, being a Sheppard on many occasion and the odd speaking role here and there. Christmas plays were the best, you got to have time out of classes to rehearse and chat with your friends. All the parents would come and watch you perform which usually included staying up late and being able to hang out with other friends and watch your crush in the year above you, act on stage. My French primary school Christmas experience was rather different there was no Christmas play, instead maybe a carol or two sung by the class, before meeting Santa who gave us a present (which we had previously chosen from a catalogue, amounting-I think- to the sum of €15) I received a pink digital diary.

5. Les Chansons de Noël
Most of the Christmas songs/carols I learned in school or heard throughout my time in France were adaptations or translations of traditional English or German Songs. The only popular Christmas French song I can remember and was taught at School is 'Petit Papa Noël'. The song known by every French person was made famous by Tino Rossi when he recorded it back in 1964.

6. Le Père Fouettard
Le Père Fouettard roughly translates to Father Spanker (no kinky minds please, stop that giggling this is a children's story). Le Père Fouettard is essentially Father Christmas's henchman, he chooses which child should be on the naughty or nice lists. He is the one who delivers coal and a spanking to the naughty children all over the world.

Those are the little things I can remember or thought were a little odd at the time of discovery. When I was little I assumed most of us spent Christmas the same way, but like all religious holidays, fairytales and myths, each country, region, and household has their own stamp and their own traditions. However you're celebrating Christmas this year, I hope you have a merry one.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed a little taste of a different culture.
Remeber to come back tomorrow to read another post on the blogmas calendar.
XO