A French Christmas for our Family
This winter our family will be heading to our second home in France to spend a couple of months enjoying crisp cold walks around the village and nearby towns, evenings in front of a roaring log fire, reading books under blankets and best of all, experience another French Christmas. Hopefully it will be a white one!
We've been dreaming and hoping for a white Christmas for a few years now, as it rarely snows at our village in Côte d'Armor, Brittany. The last time it snowed significantly, and we were blanketed under white, was way back in 2009. The children energetically threw snow balls at each other, made snow men and we traipsed through the streets listening to the crisp crunch of snow underfoot. It was truely magical for our Aussie family, who usually go sailing from our lake house and swim at local beaches during November and December, to witness our first white Christmas.
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France is fascinating at Christmas time with provinces celebrating localised traditions and festivals bringing the community together. Family is all important at this time of the year in France, and our family will be together eating traditional meals including a Bûche de Noël (Christmas log cake), Galette des Rois and roasted chestnuts. We'll wander Christmas markets, attend a service at our village église (church) and join in putting up our gorgeous le sapin de Noël (Christmas tree).
Christmas à la Francaise
Let's take a look at some of the wonderful events that are on offer at Christmas time in France from fairytale Strasbourg, picture-postcard pretty Riquewihr, Provence, Brittany, Lyon, and of course the City of Light, Paris. No matter where you are at this time of the year, France pulls out all the stops and puts on an impressive show.
Strasbourg
Strasbourg, the capital of the Alsace region, boasts France's oldest and biggest Christmas market. Filling the area in front of the cathedral, the markets are famous for its decorations, lanterns, gingerbreads, mulled wine, sweets and handcrafted items.
Riquewihr
Riquewihr is one of those postcard pretty towns, that grows in mystic proportions with each Christmas. Along the Alsatian wine route, it's famous for its thousands of multi-coloured glass ornaments and ball decorations.
Provence
Food pays centrepiece over Christmas in southern Provence. Representing the Holy Trinity, tables are set with three white tablecloths, three candleholders and three bowls of wheat. Seven meatless dishes are served, which symbolise Christ's seven wounds. And keeping in the theme of food and symbolic numbers, 13 desserts are served which symbolise Jesus and the 12 Apostles. Wow, what a way to celebrate!
Brittany
Bretons don't have a huge Christmas Eve supper after Mass like in many other parts of the country. A lighter meal of crêpes is the tradition in northwestern France, and on Christmas Day it's meats, vegetables and a delicious Bûche de Noël.
Lyon
Christmas starts early in Lyon with the Fête des Lumières (Festival of Light) kicking off in the first week of December. Starting as a simple religious tradition in 1852 with citizens lighting candles to celebrate the inauguration of a statue of the Virgin Mary at the hilltop Basilica, it's now a massive world renowned extravaganza. City buildings are lit up with extraordinary patterns and even residents display candles in their windows.
Paris
Glitzy window displays are worth viewing at the large department stores of Galeries Lafayette, Printemps and smaller boutiques have interesting unique displays. Avenue des Champs-Élysées, with its trees strung with thousands of white lights is quite something. Thousands of people line the street each year to witness the turning on of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées lights. Make sure you don't miss the massive Christmas tree emblazoned with twinkling lights in Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul II (the Square in front of Notre-Dame).
More Happenings Around Christmas Time in France
La Toussaint - From 1st November onwards expect shorter winter trading hours for many tourist attractions. Some restaurants also close for a couple of nights mid-week. The 1st of November is an essential day on the French calendar being Toussaint, or All Saints Day. It's a national public holiday that is well anticipated and planned for by businesses, families and educational institutions. Read our post All Saints Day In France - La Toussaint for everything about the day that stops the nation - quite literally!
Christmas Day & New Year's Day - Both 25 December and 1 January are public holidays and most shops and banks are closed. To help plan your trip to France and make sure what you want to see is open to tourists, check out our comprehensive calendar in our post Calendar of French Public Holidays & National Celebration Days.
Santons - Nativity figurines from Provence called Santons decorate homes and shops everywhere during Christmas time. They're uniquely French and have loads of character, with each one handcrafted in the south of France. The story of these little figurines goes back to the French Revolution when churches were closed and nativity scenes were banned.
So, with so many events happening across the country, and extra happenings to enjoy around Christmas, a visit to France with its snowy weather, old rituals and delicious food in winter promises to be a magical time.
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