French Christmas traditions
In Denmark, we cook klejner, we dance around the Christmas tree, and we enjoy Disney’s Christmas show while eating confectionery and dreaming of a white Christmas, like the time I can barely remember. We eat duck, roast pork, medister sausage, red cabbage, browned potatoes and SOVS, and then we try to digest it all while singing and dancing around the Christmas tree.
But what do you do in France? What are the Christmas traditions in this multicultural country?
In France, roast turkey with chestnuts, shellfish, foie gras and champagne are all part of Christmas. You can almost be sure that oysters, smoked salmon and foie gras on the table on Christmas Eve – “Réveillon de Noël”. The presents are traditionally opened after midnight or Christmas Day morning, when the turkey roast is also usually eaten.
13 desserts
Arranged on the 3 tablecloths, in the center of the 3 candles or the 3 candlesticks, and the 3 cups of wheat from Sainte-Barbe (symbol of the Trinity), the thirteen desserts represent the number of guests during the Last Supper, a meal to bring Christ and the twelve apostles together.
The 13 desserts were traditionally eaten after midnight mass. According to tradition, you have to taste each of the 13 desserts. That’s why it’s a good idea to cut them into small pieces.
Throughout history and according to tradition, desserts have consisted of:
- Nuts
- Dried figs
- Raisins
- Dates
- Quince
- Various candied fruits
- Oil pump also called Fougasse
- White nougat
Today, many other different desserts are also made.
The Yule Log
La Bûche de Noël ‘the log’ is a slightly more recent tradition, as it was perhaps originally a symbol of the end of the Winter Solstice in several Northern European countries. Others believe it originated in Lyon, while there are also stories that it was invented around 1834 by a young apprentice baker in Saint-Germain-des-Prés – a neighborhood in Paris.
After the Second World War, it spread throughout France and later to all French-speaking countries.
In reality, it’s up to everyone to decide what the roulade consists of, but most are made with chocolate cream. That’s how I make it myself.
Christmas markets
Every year you can experience Christmas markets or Marchés de Noël in the different cities. They are quite different from the Danish Christmas markets where you get Gløgg and æbleskiver from Karen Wolff or Daloon – I bake them myself, and luckily I have a good old-fashioned æbleskive pan and not an iron.
Check out the Christmas markets on the Côte d’Azur in the Event Calendar
Read also:
Christmas Markets in Paris – the ultimate guide to Christmas spirit in the city of lights
My apple slices turn out exactly the way I like them, collapsed and with lots of flavor – not round and stiff like the ones we buy in bags in Rema1000. Joking aside, but Christmas markets… In Denmark, Santa Claus likes to drop by with sweets for the kids, and in some cities he’s also the one who magically – together with the children – lights the town’s Christmas tree.
In some places in the countryside, you can even get a ride in a horse-drawn carriage – I think you can still do that in Odense, and it’s not that far out in the countryside. But as the village girl that I am, I only know about the traditions that are still held on to.
Christmas markets in France offer snails, oysters and other delicacies, but there aren’t as many Christmas gift stalls. It’s mostly about buying food. In Cannes, there’s usually a tiny ice rink just like in Nice. In both Antibes and Nice there is a Ferris wheel.
The atmosphere is different and I’ve been told that if you really want to experience the Christmas spirit, you have to go to Alsace.
You don’t dance around the Christmas tree
When I first spent Christmas alone in France in 2010, I missed the dance around the Christmas tree, which is not found in French homes.
When the midnight mass was not held at midnight and we had walked to the church in vain, there was a huge Christmas tree in the middle of the square in Vallauris and my French friend, her mother, little brother and I danced around the tree – they had never done that before.
When my French boyfriend and his daughter celebrated Christmas in Denmark for the first time last year, they also tried dancing around the tree. For my boyfriend, it was one of the most striking Christmas memories from Denmark because he had never experienced it before.
Videos were sent around to all his friends because he thought it was so amazing – the experience was only enhanced by the fact that we had a WHITE CHRISTMAS for once!
Hygge
Well, hygge is Danish, but the feeling is international – maybe even universal! Christmas is about being together and enjoying each other’s company.
For me, it has become even more important to enjoy time with my loved ones during the Christmas season because the rest of the year can easily become too busy.
Something happens to me around Christmas though – I become more mellow, less devil-may-care and most of all, I just want to sit on the couch or armchair with my mom’s home-knitted socks, hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream and the Sound of Music (I know, it’s not a French tradition either).
But I’m gradually implementing some Danish traditions into my French life while living in the French culture and adopting more and more French Christmas traditions.
I do have a few things I don’t quite like though… I’ll probably never get used to the smell of spray painted trees trying to imitate snow, AND Christmas lights in France will NEVER be as beautiful as in Denmark.
I miss the beautiful white lights that fall like stars and crystals over city streets and alleys. So I try to create that atmosphere in my home instead.
Merry Christmas!
By Vanessa Balsby – 2023
CityXee recommends this Christmas excursion on the Côte d’Azur
