Joyeux Noël from French Cycling Holidays
Some festive traditions from our favourite French regions:
It's 24 December and you've just finished work (that's right, it's not a public holiday in France), but you can't sit down yet, because there's a Christmas feast to prepare!
A Reveillon Feast
In France, family and friends gather on Christmas Eve to tuck into an indulgent feast: the Reveillon de Noël.
Local dishes are definitely favoured on this special day. In the western Dordogne area, the starter will be more likely to include foie gras, usually served with buttery brioche toasts and perhaps some fig jam, alongside a glass of sweet wine from Chateau Monbazillac in Bordeaux, possibly even splashing out on the crème-de-la-crème, Chateau Yquem, the only Premier Cru Supérieur in the Sauternes AOC. If any cyclists from our Bordeaux Vineyards tour picked up a bottle of Monbazillac at the tasting, Christmas is a good time to retrieve it from the wine cellar!
In coastal regions will likely devour oysters by the douzaine (dozen), usually with finely chopped shallots and red wine vinegar or a wedge of lemon. (If you like oysters, our Mediterranean Coast tour is the one for you) with a glass or two of Champagne.
Oysters and Champagne, a grand classic for Christmas Eve
Diners in Alsace, Provence or Burgundy will then tuck into a stuffed, roast turkey or capon, with potatoes. Other regions may cook a whole fish, venison or channel their inner Obelix with a roast wild boar... Our guide to festive wines explains more about which Christmas wines you might drink with your roast turkey.
For dessert, a magnificent Bûche de Noël will arrive at the table. This is a swiss roll cake, decadently iced with buttercream to look like a log of wood, and has been a tradition in France since the 19th century. Pâtisseries really go to town with their bûche selections: you’ll find chocolate versions, coffee, chestnut, lemon, passionfruit, praline, white chocolate and raspberry, salted caramel. And that’s not mentioning the ice-cream versions: bûche glacée.
Gingerbread buche de Noel
Meanwhile in Provence, you definitely need to leave room for more than just the yule log, as a local tradition involves serving 13 desserts! These symbolise Jesus and his 12 apostles. Thankfully for the chef, it is acceptable to count different dried fruits and nuts as one dessert, so almonds, pear, apple, dates, prunes, raisins, melon, figs or hazelnuts would be served alongside nougat and a special cake made with olive oil, orange zest and orange flower water, a pompe à l’huile. If you fancy having a go at this dish, there's a recipe on The Good Life France website.
After dinner espresso is of course accompanied by chocolate. Originally from Lyon, papillottes are now found throughout France at Christmas time. These are chocolates, pralines or sometimes pâte à fruits, wrapped in shiny paper and also containing a fact or an inspirational quote – a little like anglophone countries have inside their crackers.
After the meal, people might go to Midnight Mass, but usually every family will then begin opening the presents laid out beneath the Christmas tree or sapin.
Mon Beau Sapin
Since the 16th Century, French homes have installed a sapin de Noël in December, and the origin – as with many festive traditions which come from Germanic regions – has been traced to the Alsace.
Maria Leszczyńska (the Polish wife of King Louis XV) had a Christmas tree in Versailles, but it was not until the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1) that immigrants fled to France, bringing with them the pine tree tradition.
The song ‘O Tannenbaum’ in German has been translated into English as ‘O Christmas Tree’, and also into French, Mon Beau Sapin.
Petit Papa Noël
Before Père Noël (Father Christmas/Santa Claus), it was Père Chalande who roamed the Savoie region, and even as far as Geneva, visiting children at home and wearing a pointy hat. In arpatan, the local dialect of the Rhone Alpes language, 'chalande' was the word for Christmas, when people tucked into oranges and r’zules (rissoles, in modern French) which are small pastries with pear or quince compote and fried.
Rascally kids had better watch out for Père Fouettard, who dressed in black and accompanied his more benevolent partner, Saint Nicholas, to whip(!) any youngsters who had been naughty… That said, Saint Nicholas was more likely to visit on 6 December.
These days, children are most likely to be waiting for Père Noël, hoping their soulier (slippers or shoes), laid by the tree or the fireplace, will be filled with treats.
Mention Christmas music to a French person, and aside from Mon Beau Sapin, they'll probably start singing Petit Papa Noël, Tino Rossi's big hit in 1946 and has been covered numerous times since.
If you want to sing along, here are the words to the chorus:
Petit Papa Noël
Quand tu descendras du ciel
Avec des jouets par milliers
N'oublie pas mon petit soulier
And in English:
Little Father Christmas
When you come down from the sky
With toys by the thousand
Don't forget my little shoe
One of France's best known Christmas songs, Petit Papa Noel
Christmas Markets
The Marché de Noël Christmas Market trip is as popular with French shoppers as it is with the rest of us! Two million visitors descend upon Strasbourg at Christmas time, to visit the enchanting Alsatian city and the bustling market stalls around its impressive cathedral.
Held since the middle ages, the Strasbourg Christmas market is the oldest in France, and these days gathers up to 300 stalls near the Cathedral and in squares around the Grand Ile area of the city. The scent of cinnamon and vin chaud winds through the streets among the distinctive pitched roof buildings with their stepped gables and half-timbered facades.
How to say 'Merry Christmas' in French
Here in France, the most usual way to wish someone a happy Christmas is 'Joyeux Noël'. If you won't see someone until after the festivities, you could also say 'Joyeuses Fêtes' - 'enjoy the party'!
From the first of January, you can wish someone a happy new year by saying 'meilleurs vœux', literally, 'best wishes'.
And with that, Joyeux Noël from French Cycling Holidays!