'Merry Christmas' in French is'Joyeux Noël.' Father Christmas is le Père Noël. If you are going to send him a letter then it should begin:- Cher Père Noël, ....
In the North East of France, Christmas celebrations begin on the 6 December - also known as Saint Nicholas' Day. The celebrations take place because, once upon a time, there were three children who got lost in the countryside. A wicked butcher kidnapped them. Luckily,Saint Nicolasrescued the children and returned them to their parents. This is why Saint Nicholas is known as the protector of children. Another name for him is Santa Claus!
On the night of 5 December (the eve of Saint Nicholas) children place their shoes at the entrance to their house. They also leave a carrot and a sugar lump for Saint Nicholas' donkey. During the night, the saint arrives bringingtreats for the children to find in their shoes in the morning.
There isalso a scary (but fun) charactercalledle Père Fouettard.He represents the wickedbutcher who kidnapped the children. Le Père Fouettardfollows Saint Nicholas,carries a whipand is dressed in black.The namele Père Fouettardcomes from the word for'the whip.' Below is a traditional song for la Saint-Nicolas.
le fouet= the whip.
The words to the song are:- Il était trois petit* enfants
There were three little children
Qui s'en allaient glaner aux champs.
Who would go to gather grain in the fields.
S'en vinrent un soir chez un boucher.
They came across a butcher's house one evening.
"Boucher, voudrais-tu nous coucher?"
"Butcher, can we sleep at your house?"
"Entrez, entrez, petit* enfants.
"Come in, come in, little children.
Il y a de la place assurément!"
Of course there is room!"
One of the most important places for les festivités dela Saint-Nicolas is a town named after the saint. Belowis a photo of Saint Nicolas with Père Fouettard. Also, an image of the traditional gingerbread - le pain d'épices - that is made in the shape of Saint Nicholas.
Itis called Saint-Nicolas-de-Port becausethe saint's relics are kept in the town's basilica.
In the city of Lyon there is a wonderfulFestival of Lights. It is calledla Fête des Lumières.It is a four-day festival taking place around the8 December. Why does it take place at this time?
In France, the 8 December is a celebration in honour of the Virgin Mary - la Vierge Marie. In Lyon, during this festival, there are amazing, artistic light shows illuminating the buildings. Below is an image of the city's cathedral, dressed in coloured light.
An important French tradition is to displayune crèchesomewhere in your home.This tradition is most popular in the regionof Provence. La crècheis a pretty arrangement of little buildings and figurines surrounding the Christmas crib. The figurines are calledsantonsand theyinclude:-
the Baby Jesus - l'EnfantJésus
Mary and Joseph -Marie et Joseph
the shepherds -les bergers
the angels -les anges
the Three Kings -les Rois Mages
the animals -les animaux
the village people -les habitants d'un village
Inla crèche, the figurines of the village people represent lots of different professions, for example:-
le boulanger- the baker
le fermier- the farmer
le chasseur- the hunter
la lavandière- the laundry maid
There is also a figurine calledle ravi, meaning 'the delighted one', and he always has his arms raised to express his delight. Everybodyis welcoming the Baby Jesus!
Some figurines are placed inla crèchelater than the others:- The figurine of the Baby Jesus is placed in His manger on Christmas Day, to represent the day of His birth. The figurines of the Three Kings appear on the night of 5 January, to represent the time they arrived at the stable. You can read a Christmas poem about village people here.
La veille de Noëlis Christmas Eve. The night of Christmas Eve is also called la nuit de Noël. On the night of Christmas Eve, there is a special meal to celebrate the very beginning of Christmas Day. This traditional Christmas Eve dinneris called le réveillon de Noël.
JoyeuxNoël et bon appétit!
In the regionof Provence, it is the tradition to serve thirteen desserts at the end ofthe Christmas Eve dinner. They are known as les treize desserts or les calenos.The number 13 represents Jesus and His twelve disciples. The desserts are set out on the table where they remain for three days. Two of the thirteen traditional desserts are called le gibassier and la pompe àl'huile d'olive. They are a type of flatbrioche containing olive oil andflavoured with aniseed, orange or lemon. Another traditional item isle nougat which is served in two colours:le nougat blanc (white nougat) and le nougat noir (black nougat).
French children leave theirshoesout in front of the fireplace - la cheminée,or around the Christmas tree -le sapin de Noël. When they awake on Christmas Day, they hopeto find that le Père Noël has visited and that theshoes (les souliers) are filled andsurrounded by gifts - des cadeaux. Le soulier de Noël- the traditional French version of the Christmas stocking (The French wordsactually say 'the Christmasshoe.') Nowadays, you will also find: la chaussette de Noël - the Christmas sock/stockingandla botte de Noël - the Christmas boot
Voici du vocabulaire de Noël: le jour de Noël- Christmas Day
Here issome Christmas vocabulary:
la Nativité- the Nativity
l'Avent - Advent
le calendrier de l'Avent - the Advent calendar
la crèche- the crib, the manger, or the Nativity scene
Marie et Joseph- Mary and Joseph
l'Enfant Jésus- the Baby Jesus
l'ange- the angel
l'étoile- the star
Bethléem- Bethlehem
l'âne- the donkey
le berger- the shepherd
les Rois Mages- the Three Kings
le chant de Noël- the Christmas carol
la guirlande de Noël- the Christmas tinsel
la guirlande électrique - the fairy lights
la bougieor la chandelle - the candle
le bonhomme de neige - the snowman
le renne - the reindeer
le traîneau - the sleigh
Christmas dinners often include:-
seafood -les fruits de mer
oysters -les huîtres
lobster -le homard
snails -les escargots
smoked salmon -le saumon fumé
caviar -le caviar
duck -le canard
goose -l'oie
goose liver pâté - le foie gras
turkey -la dinde
green beans -les haricots
cheese - le fromage
Champagne - le champagne / le vin de Champagne
foil-wrapped chocolates - les papillotes
For dessert there is usually a sponge and buttercream Christmas log calledla bûche de Noël.
Here are some French Christmas proverbs: Décembre trop beau, été dans l'eau.
If the weather in December is too nice,the summer will be wet.
Noël neigeux, été merveilleux.
Snowy Christmas, wonderful summer.
Boxing Day is referred to as le lendemain de Noël or la Saint-Étienne - St. Stephen's Day. New Year's Eve is calledla Saint-Sylvestre(Saint Sylvester's Day). There is a special dinner in the evening calledle réveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre also known as le réveillondu jour de l'An. There areparties and presents too. New Yeargifts are calledles étrennes. To say 'Happy New Year' you sayBonne Année! This actually means 'Good Year.'
Les Plantes de Noël
In France, some plants that are associated with the festive period are: holly - le houx and the red poinsettia plant which is known as une étoile de Noël - a Christmas star.
Mistletoe (le gui) is considered a plant that brings good luck for the next year. It is a 'lucky plant' -une plante porte-bonheur. There is an old French saying:-Au gui l'an neuf. This means:- 'Mistletoe for the New Year.'
l'étoile deNoël
le houx
le gui - C'est une plante porte-bonheur!
New Year's Day is calledle jour de l'Anor leNouvel An. Manypeople make a New Year Resolution. This is calledune bonne résolution de Nouvel An.
During the firstdaysofJanuary, a special cake is prepared calledla galette des Rois(the Kings' cake). The cake is officially eaten on 6 January in celebration of the journey of the Three Kings - les Rois Mages -who followed the star of Bethlehem, found the Baby Jesus - l'Enfant Jésus -and gave Him their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. In French, those gifts are called l'or, l'encens et la myrrhe.
The date of 6 January is calledl' Épiphanie. It is also known as la Fête des Rois. The Kings' cake,la galette des Rois,is round and made of puff pastry. Inside the cake, a special trinket is hidden. This trinket is calledune fève- meaning 'a bean.' It used to be the tradition to find a 'dried bean' inside the cake but nowadays the trinkets are little, porcelainfigurines. You must be careful when eating the cake - just in case you bite into the hidden trinket and damage your teeth!
On 6 January, parties take place and the Kings' cake is served by playing a traditional game! A rule of the game is that the king - le roi -or the queen - la reine - shouldbuy or make the cake for the next party.
Achild hides under the table and shouts out the name of the next person to be served a slice of the cake. It is then discoveredwho has won thetrinket - la fève. That person becomes the 'king' or 'queen' of the party and wears a paper crown. Everyone shouts,'Vive le roi!' (Long live the king!) or 'Vive la reine!' (Long live the queen!).
The name of the Three Kings -les Rois Mages- is a way to say 'the magic kings'. They used their magic powers of observing the stars and planets to look for special meanings and warnings. It was the star of Bethlehem -l'étoile de Bethléem- that indicated the birth and location of a new King for which they set out on their journey.
Some Interesting Facts:
1. During the French Revolution the Kings' cake was not allowed to be called by that name. The word 'king' orroiwas not very popular at that time in France, so the cake was re-namedle gâteau de l'égalité, meaning:- 'the equality cake.' 2. The English word 'tinsel' comes from the French verb étinceler, meaning - to sparkle.
Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!
Christmas Zone
Le Gros Souper et les 13 Desserts
French Christmas Activities Pack
Christmas bookmark templates. Worksheets. Christmas signs.
Christmas card templates.
Suitable for primary schools.
Christmas in France
A PDF collection of worksheets providing information on French Christmas traditions and vocabulary.
All answers are provided in the teachers' section. Suitable for KS2 & Y7
Designed for use with our website.
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