Christmas in France is celebrated on December 25th. For most residents of the country, this event went beyond religious boundaries and became the main family holiday. On this day, close relatives gather in the same house at the solemn table and have fun.

Traditions and rituals

In France, Christmas is preceded by the Catholic fast Advent. It begins on the fourth Sunday before the holiday and continues until December 24th. During this period, the French are engaged in charity: they make donations public organizations give clothes and gifts to the poor.

The main symbol of Lent is the Advent wreath. It consists of living or artificial branches needles and four candles. On the Sundays of Advent, it is customary to light one of the candles on the wreath, one more each time.

Children are looking forward to Christmas. Parents give them an advent calendar, which consists of 24 pockets. Every day from December 1 to December 24, children open one pocket and take out a small sweet gift in the form of sweets or chocolate figurines. This is how they count down the remaining days until Christmas.

On December 24, Christmas Eve, families attend Christmas Mass. In some French provinces, there is a tradition to arrange mysteries or pastorals (theatrical performances) on biblical subjects, which are accompanied by the singing of choirs. In the evening, it's time for a gala dinner - Reveillon (Le Reveillon). The whole family gathers at the table and exchanges bright Christmas cards. After dinner, the French light a candle on the windowsill.

Christmas decorations

The main symbol of Christmas in France is the fir tree. The inhabitants of the country decorate it with tinsel, garlands, glass balls, toys, as well as sweets, nuts and apples. In many families, the old tradition of decorating the Christmas tree with red ribbons and white candles has been preserved. The French love to decorate their homes with the poinsettia, whose red bracts symbolize Star of Bethlehem. They place huge paper snowflakes on the windowpanes.

Figures of Santa Claus (Per Noel) are hung from the balconies and windows, climbing the stairs with a bag of gifts. Christmas decorations are hung on the front door spruce wreath. From antiquity came the tradition of placing over front door evergreen sprigs of mistletoe. The French believe that this plant helps protect the house from evil spirits and brings good luck.

In houses, temples and city squares, it is customary to install decorative compositions, which reproduce the scene of the birth of Jesus Christ. They use a figurine of a baby in a manger surrounded by Mary, Joseph, the Magi, animals and angels. In France, santons are common - clay figurines of saints, which are manually made by Provencal craftsmen.

On the main squares of cities and villages, elegant Christmas trees are set up and Christmas markets unfold. The central streets, shops, restaurants and hotels flash with bright illumination.

Festive table

The French Christmas menu consists of sumptuous dishes and gourmet delicacies. The central place on the festive table is occupied by baked stuffed poultry. In different regions of the country, goose, turkey, chicken or rooster are used. Favorite snacks of the French - liver pate, foie gras, oysters, ham, snails, olives, celery in anchovy oil. Baked cod, spinach, soup with garlic and sage are considered traditional dishes.

The main Christmas dessert is a pie with chocolate and chestnuts in the form of a log La Bouche de Noel. It is carried around the table, divided among all family members and eaten. The origin of the pie goes back to antiquity, when on Christmas Eve a Christmas log was burned in the hearth, which symbolized fertility and prosperity.

Traditional desserts are the Christmas loaf Le Pen Kalendo and kunyu - glazed cakes in the form of a child. Main drink holiday table- champagne.

Present

The French present each other at Christmas with cards, books, board or active games, intangible surprises as gifts.

Children receive gifts from Per Noel. This character rides a donkey with a basket of gifts. He puts toys and sweets in shoes that children leave near the fireplace or Christmas tree. Per Noel's assistant is Per Fuetar, who distributes rods to naughty guys.

Cities and resorts

During the period winter holidays the cities of France turn into a fairy tale.

Paris will surprise its guests with the splendor of Christmas and New Year decorations. On the square in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, the main Christmas tree is set up, near which recreational activities for adults and children. Large-scale Christmas markets are held at Saint-Lazare, Moonparnasse, North, Lyon and East stations. You can buy souvenirs self made, gifts, decorations and home decorations, enjoy roasted chestnuts, gingerbread, mulled wine, hot chocolate.

Christmas holidays in the capital of France can be diversified by sightseeing. Romantics will not be able to miss the opportunity to see with their own eyes the main symbol of Paris - the Eiffel Tower. On the ground floor of the tower there is a restaurant where you can enjoy a sumptuous meal and impressive panoramas of the city. Other famous sights of Paris - Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Champs Elysees, Notre Dame Cathedral, Versailles, Pont Alexandre III, Moulin Rouge cabaret, Sainte Chapelle, Musée d'Orsay. Children will be delighted to visit Disneyland Paris, which has parks and attractions for all tastes.

Aix-en-Provence is the most beautiful city in France. Vacationers can feel the atmosphere of Provence in the cozy narrow streets of the old city, surrounded by old houses. The city is famous for the Provencal market, which is part of the culture. Here you can buy souvenirs, fabrics, famous Provencal cosmetics and products from local farms. From December 17 to 24, the city hosts the 13 Desserts festival. On it you can enjoy traditional pastries and sweets, take part in gastronomic master classes.

Fans of outdoor activities will love the ski resorts of France. The most popular winter tourism regions are Aquitaine, Midi Pyrenees, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, Rhone-Alpes. The resort of Chamonix is ​​located in the area of ​​the Mont Blanc mountain range. It will please travelers with a developed infrastructure, professional sports schools, well-equipped tracks different kind complexity and picturesque scenery.

Christmas is the most long-awaited and favorite holiday for every French family, so they prepare for Christmas long before it, usually a month in advance. This holiday is loved by everyone, regardless of religion, Christmas leaves no one indifferent. Children are looking forward to the celebration of Christmas with special impatience to find gifts under the Christmas tree.

In France, the celebration of Christmas takes a month, from December 6, the day of St. Nicholas to January 6, the day of the King (or the day of Epiphany). This is the most fabulous period in France, the streets are decorated with snowflakes made of light bulbs, beautiful Christmas trees are everywhere, in apartments, in shops, in porches ... People are frantically buying gifts, and the kids, waiting for gifts, put shoes on fireplaces or under the Christmas tree to receive them from Père Noël, for good behaviour.

In France, Christmas is a family holiday that gathers all relatives at the festive table. It is also one of the most generous holidays, as many gifts are given, sweets and sweets are given to children. On Christmas days, significant assistance is given to the poor in the form of gifts and clothing.

No Christmas is complete without a Christmas mass - Le Réveillon and a gala dinner.

Christmas traditions in France

At Christmas, everyone exchanges not only gifts, but also cards. Of course, the main decoration of houses, streets, shops is the Christmas tree. The New Year's beauty appeared in France in the 14th century in Alsace, at that time paper flowers and ribbons and apples served as her festive attire. In 1858 there was a poor harvest of apples, so in Lorraine they made glass balls instead of apples. Today, the Christmas tree is decorated not only with toys, but with sweets, nuts and other sweets. At Christmas, it is also customary to hang mistletoe at the entrance, it brings good luck in the new year.

In cities such as Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Auban, figurines of saints (santons) are made and painted by hand.

The nursery with baby Jesus is another important symbol of Christmas. They can be seen not only in churches, but also in houses; scenes of the Birth of Christ from small figures and dolls are equally common.

The first manger was made in the department of Aube (Aube), around the manger there are 20 gilded statues. This manger stands in the church of Chaource. Initially, mangers were installed in churches, over time, wealthy families began to install them at home. The scene of the nursery is a baby in a cradle, next to his parents, an ox and a donkey known to everyone from the legend, shepherds, wise men. A very important role in this scene is played by ordinary heroes from the people, such as a fisherman, a fish shop saleswoman, a woman with a jug, etc.

In the 19th century, it became very popular to make figurines of saints, which were bought up and bought up at fairs.

According to the French tradition, the Christmas log La bûche de Noël is prepared for Christmas, in order to increase the harvest and make it better. Previously, they took a log of the tree from which they wanted to get more harvest, such as oak and beech, the fruits of which were the main food of the peasants in the Middle Ages. In some provinces, gifts and sweets for children are hidden in logs.

If Père Noël gives gifts to obedient children, then Père Fouettard (grandfather with rods) comes to naughty children and asks for a beating and a piece of coal as a gift.

Reveillon Gala Dinner (Le Réveillon)

Christmas Mass is still very important event Christmas, even though fewer French people visit it now than before.

After the Mass, it is time for the Reveillon gala dinner (from the verb - réveiller - to wake up or be reborn, which symbolizes the birth of Christ).

Each region has its own Christmas menu, but there are certainly such dishes as: soup with sage and garlic, spinach or cod, green and black olives, fried fish, cauliflower, celery in anchovy oil, snails, a traditional delicacy - goose liver ...

We bring to your attention a few Christmas French desserts:

La Bouche de Noel(La bûche de Noël) is a log-shaped cake with chocolate and chestnuts.

Difficulties.net starts publishing thematic materials about life in France. Selection number one - gastronomic. You will learn about traditional dishes that are prepared in many French families, as well as recipes and secrets of their preparation, adapted to Russian conditions. (Recipes are at the bottom of the article).

Let's start with the festive table, which is made in France for one of the most important holidays of the year - catholic christmas. Christmas is considered a family holiday, which is desirable to celebrate with your family (as in Russia - New Year), and not only a narrow composition (wife / husband / children). At Christmas, it is customary to gather, for example, with their parents, where all children and grandchildren come.

The Christmas table in France is always abundance. If during a regular dinner (even with guests) there can be only one dish as an appetizer, or not at all, then at Christmas there are a lot of snacks.

Traditional snacks- these are delicacies: duck or goose foie gras, oysters and snails, smoked fish.

Classic delivery option foie gras in French - with a special loaf of black or gray bread, with fig jam and with special coarse salt.

oysters(number 3 or 5 are the most popular) usually served with lemon, this is a classic. But there is another option, little known in Russia - baked in the oven with cheese. Not everyone likes this unconventional way of cooking what is usually eaten raw, but, in fairness, the taste of warm oysters with melted cheese is also quite interesting.

snails- Another a traditional dish French cuisine, it is usually eaten during the cold season, and why not at Christmas and New Year? Usually, housewives buy snails already stuffed with a special seasoning (chopped parsley, garlic, olive oil) in a supermarket or on the market, so all that remains is to put them in the oven.

Main courses

One of the traditional Christmas dishes in France is big turkey(do not forget that, as a rule, a large family gathers!), stuffed with chestnuts.

Or as an option - baked in a stove duck breast. The hostess must have experience so that the duck breast is neither raw nor overcooked, which will make it dry. Ideally, the breast should give off pink juice, not blood, and be covered with a delicious crust on the outside. It's really not easy - to catch the right moment with the breast.

Next, after the main courses in French cuisine, there are cheeses, which are served before dessert and are a separate dish, not a dessert, as is sometimes mistakenly considered in Russia. On the festive table there may be a so-called "cheese plate", consisting of several pieces different types cheese, or maybe not. Still, cheeses almost always accompany a meal in the family, and it is not necessary to serve them during the holiday.

Next come desserts. The French are very fond of brioche- a traditional sweet rich bun, the recipe of which comes from Normandy (approximately the 16th century). Due to the fact that the preparation of classic brioche (during French this dish female) is quite time-consuming and the recipe is not simple, today many people prefer to buy brioche in bakeries and pastry shops. Although older women still keep their own brioche recipe.

Brioche is good, but far from the only dessert served at the festive French table. These are usually various homemade cakes, with Christmas symbols (all the cakes in the photo, for example, were made by a 16-year-old girl). Something airy, bright, with many details and elements that ideally should not be cloying in taste. Do not forget, since there are a lot of dishes on the French table, they simply must be light - so that guests can withstand many hours of sitting at the table.

Another popular French dish is strawberry mousse(recipe below). It has an amazing taste, but quality ingredients and strict adherence to the recipe are essential.

Simpler thing - traditional apple cake(in our opinion it is a pie). It can be with or without caramel. In the photo - a cake according to a simple recipe that even a schoolboy can cook.

There may be other sweets on the table, for example, dried fruits or glazed nuts.

Cooking French dishes yourself:

Might be interesting:

Elena Kurylenko, photo by Olga Popova

The traditions of this holiday are appreciated by all Europeans, regardless of confession. At Christmas, the French, like the Russians for the New Year, usually gather with their families at the festive table, where you can find many delicious and unusual dishes. Christmas dinner even has a special name in this country - "reveillon" (from the French réveillon - "awakening"). This is not just a family feast, but solemn event, for which all the French begin to prepare for a month, and sometimes two. First you need to think through all the details of the upcoming event - from decorating the house to a long list of products that will be required for the festive table. With a week left until Christmas, the most important stage of preparation begins. Women spend their days in the kitchen, creating culinary masterpieces. Men are entrusted with cutting meat, as well as choosing alcoholic beverages. Children also do not stand aside - usually they help set the table and carry out small tasks for their parents.

Eventually festive dinner turns into a grandiose event, in the preparation of which, one way or another, each member of the family takes part. It is believed that the Christmas table should be bursting with a variety of dishes - both traditional and truly luxurious, which can only be afforded on this amazing holiday. Most dishes have their own symbols, and numbers are of great importance. For example, in Provence, the tradition of serving 13 desserts to the table (according to the number of participants in the Last Supper) is especially popular. These delicacies are made from biscuits, olive oil, nougat and honey, and they always contain several types of nuts and dried fruits, each of which symbolizes one of the four wandering monastic orders and Jesus Christ.

Each region of the country has its own local customs that differ from each other. But there are also several universal traditions of the Christmas table in France, which most families still observe.

So the French traditionally start Christmas Eve with an aperitif and small snacks. Usually, champagne or white wine, foie gras, rolls, canapes, tartlets, terrines and rillettes of meat and game are served at the table. Especially favorite among the French are gourmet seafood dishes: various oysters, Burgundy snails (escorgo), shrimps, crabs, lobsters, sant-jacks (scallops), langoustines.

Then comes the turn of the main course, which is based on meat, game or fish. In most regions of France, they prefer to bake a turkey or traditional chapon, which are usually stuffed with dried fruits, mushrooms and nuts soaked in wine. Other popular meat dishes that are prepared especially for the Christmas table are veal filet mignon and duck baked with oranges.

After that, the French love to feast on gourmet cheeses. And in the end, holiday sweets are sure to be served to the table: nuts and fruits in chocolate, pears in wine and glace chestnuts.

But the most famous French dessert is "Christmas log" - "Bûche de Noël". This sweet treat looks like a real log sprinkled with snow. It is prepared today from dough and cream, sometimes decorated with small figures. However, this sweet roll has a very unusual origin. It is interesting that initially it was not at all a dessert that was eaten, but a real wooden log.

After the end of the midnight festive mass, the head of the family performed a ritual that was supposed to protect the house and bring prosperity to the household. He said a prayer over a Christmas log, then sprinkled it with sacred water or wine and set it on fire. For this ritual, varieties of trees that burn the slowest were usually chosen. When the festive dinner was over, the charred log could be left in the house (as a trap for fleas and bedbugs), or the ashes from it could be scattered over the fields - it was believed that this would ensure that the future wheat harvest was generous. Today, this tradition has sunk into the past, the “Christmas log” has ceased to be a symbol of protection, having become a holiday dessert beloved by all the French.

How New Year's Eve is Celebrated different countries: New Year and Christmas in France

France - Land of romantic dreams

Christmas is the most main holiday a year for any French family, so they prepare for it thoroughly, for a whole month. Whatever the religion, no one remains indifferent to this holiday. It is especially important for children who find their gifts at a decorated Christmas tree sparkling with lights. Initially based on a cycle winter solstice lasting 12 days, the celebration of Christmas in modern France stretches for a whole month. Beginning on December 6, on the day of St. Nicholas, it comes to an end only on January 6 - on the day of the King (or the day of Epiphany).

In some parts of France, Christmas celebrations start as early as December 6th, Saint Nicholas Day, but most French people celebrate Christmas on December 25th. It is on this day that the French Santa Claus - Pere Noel - brings gifts and sweets to good and diligent children. Wearing wooden shoes and with a basket of gifts on his back, he arrives on a donkey and, leaving the animal outside, enters through the chimney into the house. He puts gifts in shoes (sabots), which children leave in advance in front of the fireplace. Per Noel's companion is Pere Fouettard - a grandfather with rods, who reminds Per Noel how the child behaved during the year and what he deserves more - gifts or punishment. This character scares naughty and capricious children. Per Fuetar goes from house to house and beats the naughty, and instead of a gift they get a piece of coal.

In some provinces, Per Noël brings small gifts on December 6th and returns again at Christmas with big ones. Also, gifts can be brought by Petit Noel (Le Petit Noel) - the child Jesus.

Often the French hang a branch of mistletoe above the door of the house, believing that it will bring good luck next year. In addition, the French love flowers - they place them throughout the house, in bouquets, one at a time, they always put flowers on the table.

On Christmas Eve, after midnight mass, the whole family gathers either at home or in a restaurant (almost all restaurants in the city are open that night). Christmas dinner is very important and even has a special name - Reveillon (awakening). Dishes vary from region to region, but almost everywhere there are dishes from poultry, oysters, fish, cheese, fruits, all kinds of desserts.

If the holiday is held at home, then the whole family prepares, all traditions in cooking are observed.The main dish is goose. France exports a huge amountspecially bred geese - Toulouse - weighing up to 12 kg, around the world before Christmas. But in addition to the goose, turkey and chicken are served on the table. Cooking a turkey is also a difficult task, for gourmets like the French, a conventionally cooked turkey is not suitable. It is stuffed with truffles, mushrooms, pork, bird's liver and marinated in wine or cognac.

Traditionally, a bird is prepared - a goose, a turkey, a chicken or a rooster, as well as a white Christmas pudding. In the north-east of France, goose is often the main dish, in Burgundy - turkey with chestnuts. In Provence, 13 desserts are served for reveillon - this is an old custom that symbolizes Christ and the 12 apostles. Parisians prefer to eat oysters, lobsters, goose liver pâté (often cooked in the form of a Christmas log) and drink champagne at Christmas.

Between the main course and dessert, it's time to chat over glasses of wine, discuss how Paris is decorated this year.

And the Paris City Hall does not skimp on decorations. A month before Christmas on the Champs Elysees, a festive illumination is lit, which has forty-five kilometers of garlands, one hundred and thirty-five thousand ordinary bulbs and six thousand flash bulbs, and a skating rink opens on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower at a height of fifty-seven meters, where up to a hundred people. Also, the skating rink opens on the square in front of the city hall.

On the eve of New Year and Christmas, a Ferris wheel is erected on the Square of Concord, strewn with many light bulbs, it is simply impossible not to notice it. But from the height of the wheel offers a view of Christmas Paris, the Seine.

But still, do not forget about spruce trees, of course, albeit not very popular, but since 2002, an exhibition of haute couture Christmas trees has been held in one of the hotels on Rivoli Street. World-famous designers, florists, decorators, jewelers and confectioners present their creations here.

Spruce - a tree that is equally beautiful regardless of the periods of the solstice, has long been a subject of worship. As a symbol of eternal life, spruce was an essential element of decoration during the Saturnalia. However, in France, the use of this tree in the celebration of Christmas began later. This tradition came to France from Germany, first spreading to Alsace, presumably in the 16th century, and then to Lorraine. In other French regions, the Christmas tree came along with the inhabitants of the aforementioned regions who fled after the German annexation in 1871.

Since then, this passion has not faded. Today, Christmas trees are a whole industry. Millions of trees are planted every year to meet the growing demand.

There has been a real resurrection of the ancient cult of the tree: the spruce is dressed up, decorated with garlands of lights and glass balls. It is impossible to imagine either a French house without a Christmas tree, or a city where a festive tree would not be installed in the central square.

Once upon a time, spruce was decorated only with fruits, most often with apples. In 1858 there was a very poor apple harvest. Then the glassblowers of Lorraine created glass balls to replace apples. This is where the tradition of Christmas decorations came from.

Also, an element of decoration is a creche - a Christmas manger - a model depicting the scene of the birth of Christ. Usually the layout is filled with human figures - figurines of saints - santons. Previously, French artisans made these figurines throughout the year; and in addition to the holy family, shepherds and Mary, they often created figurines of local dignitaries. The figurines were bright and colorful, immediately eye-catching, and their molds were passed down from generation to generation. The figurines were sold throughout December at the annual Christmas markets in Marseille and Aix. They are still sold in exactly the same way today.

Since the Middle Ages, in France, a tradition has appeared on Christmas Eve to make the whole family in the courtyard of the house from fresh wood (usually cherry wood) a Christmas log - Bouche de Noel (Buche de Noel). He was solemnly brought into the house. The head of the family watered the log with oil and warmed wine, and the whole family said prayers. Little girls would set fire to the log with the wood chips left over from the previous year's log (according to legend, the ashes and wood chips left over from the burning of the Christmas log kept the house from lightning and the tricks of the devil for a year; therefore, they were carefully collected and stored). It was considered important that everyone involved in the process of lighting a new log had clean hands. Gradually, the tradition of burning the Bouches de Noel died out, although today it is still adhered to in houses with fireplaces. But most French people decorate their table with a small mock-up of the Bouches de Noel, and decorate some of the dishes in the form of a Christmas log.One of them is the "mandatory" dessert - a log (Bûche de Noël) -cake in the form of a log, with chocolate and chestnuts, decorated with sugar figures and leaves.

traditionally prepared for Christmas. You can try to prepare a delicious "Log" for your holiday table at Christmas or New Year. Products: 1 tablespoon flour, 2 tablespoons starch, 4 eggs, 6 egg yolks, 150 grams powdered sugar, 300 grams butter, 300 grams chocolate, 9 tablespoons granulated sugar, 4 teaspoons rum or cognac, 2 teaspoons coffee, roasted almonds, 2 tablespoons ground coffee.

To prepare the biscuit, separate the whites from the yolks. Grind the yolks and 100 g of sugar, while adding flour and starch. Beat the whites until a thick foam forms and put the rest of the sugar here. Mix the whipped proteins with the dough. Grease a baking sheet or pan with oil and pour the dough into it. We bake a biscuit for 10-15 minutes at a temperature up to 100ºС. We take out the biscuit as follows: we take two napkins, moisten in cold water, wring out and put one of them on a biscuit, turn over and cover with another napkin.

While the biscuit is cooling down, make the filling. Grind chocolate bars, add coffee and put on water bath. Grind the yolks with granulated sugar until white and add to warm chocolate. We also put softened butter, rum or cognac there.

For the cream, you need to grind white yolks with sugar. Separately mix rum (or cognac) with brewed coffee, pour in softened butter. Next, grind the almonds, grease the biscuit with chocolate cream, sprinkle with nuts and roll into a roll. Now you need to cut the roll on both sides obliquely and coat the cake with cream. Decorate the log with candied fruits, nuts, cream roses. You can tint the cream with syrups and make decorations colorful.

After the festive reveillon, it is customary to leave a lit candle for the Virgin Mary.

New Year in France is celebrated most often with friends, the dishes are prepared the same

but not with such scrupulousness, the rules are neglected.

Piggy bank of French

Nativité (Christmas)