Fête des Voisins or Neighbour’s Day - A French Tradition
How well do you know your neighbours? Maybe not as well as you would like? Possibly you leave early each morning and don't return till later in the dark? Then let's take a leaf out of the traditional celebration calendar of the French and celebrate Fête des Voisins. This annual festival is a great chance to spend time with your neighbours and get to really know the people that live around you.
Fête des Voisins, literally means neighbour’s day and is celebrated on the last Friday of May each year. The idea was created in France and is now observed around the world.
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Street Parties and Gatherings
During this day the inhabitants of houses and apartment blocks are encouraged to step out of their homes, socialise and get to know their neighbours in the spirit of Liberté, Égalité et Fraternité. Traffic is often banned from many streets to allow everyone to gather together around tables piled high with delicious food and regional wines.
Doesn’t this sound like such a nice idea and something that all cities should adopt? I think we could all circle this date on our calendar and if street closures and large get togethers are not possible in our suburb or village, then maybe a simpler alternative like sharing a meal with our immediate neighbours over a social drink and chat or even offering a cake, tray of biscuits or baguette to a neighbour we don't know well.
If you don't know my story, I live between my homes in both Australia and France and we try to embrace French traditions into our lives in Australia where we can. On Fête des Voisins we invite our neighbours over for snacks and cocktails both in France and in Australia. This makes us feel a little more French and we love that we spend time with our neighbours also.
I hope you enjoy Fête des Voisins or Neighbour's Day with family, friends and neighbours.
