The A to Z of Christmas in France

It might not surprise you to know that mostly – Christmas in France is all about food! So buckle up, or maybe unbuckle your belt, for the A to Z of Christmas in France according to Janine Marsh, a Brit who lives in France.

Aperitifs

A is for Aperitifs. An aperitif is a drink before dinner, and we are all agreed in my village that Madame Bernadette makes the most Christmassy aperitifs. Every Christmas she invites her favourite people to have aperitif and nibbles. Every year we know what to expect. We wander down the hill from our house to her house on the corner. We go from the cold into her baking hot kitchen which is the largest room in the house. Like many here she has a coal and wood oven. My glasses will steam up so that I can’t even see the cocktail that’s pressed into my hands but by now I know the smell of Calvados – her favourite spirit, an apple brandy. And I know it’s going to blow my socks off. I take a sip – and it feels like the party has started! Later I know we will all be sockless!

Boxing Day

B is for Boxing Day – they don’t have one in France. It’s straight back to normal the day after Christmas – and back to work. In the UK, Boxing day was about wealthy people boxing up leftovers from Christmas day to give to their servants or the poor. The nearest thing the French have is étrennes which came from a Roman custom for the rich to give gifts to charity or their servants.

Etrennes are still around, yes, but for kids, as money from grandparents, uncles aunties.

Clogs

C is for clogs. In my part of France – oranges, sweets in clogs… traditional footwear in days gone by and my neighbour Claudette still has hers but generally people don’t wear them now – except for events like folk dancing etc…

Dessert

D is for Desserts. In Provence they famously serve 13 Desserts after le gros souper, the big supper on Christmas Eve which is when most French people have the main meal – not Christmas Day. It’s a ritual at Christmas in the Provence but don’t worry it’s not 13 cakes, in case you’re wondering how on earth anyone can cope with such a thing. The tradition of Les Treize Desserts de Noël goes back several centuries, and it’s said that the roots of this custom lie in religion and represent Jesus and his twelve apostles at the Last Supper. The ingredients of the 13 desserts varies from village to village, and even from home to home. But it always includes dishes of nuts, fruit and sweets plus an orange flavoured cake. It’s a tradition to lay the desserts out on Christmas Eve and leave them there for three days and anyone that comes to your home is encouraged to get stuck in!

Eat

E = Eat. That’s all I’m going to say. In France, Christmas is all about eating and before eating, it’s all about planning what to eat. In my village we share recipes with each other and everyone agrees that our neighbours Madame Bernadette who is in her 80s, and Claudette who is in her 90’s are top chefs. They make melt in your mouth tarts ….

Fizz

F is for Fizz – Champagne – it’s the favourite drink for celebrating Christmas. Nothing more to add – I’ll leave it to Dom Perignon to have the last word on Champagne “Come quickly, I am drinking the stars”. Some people like to dip pink boudoir biscuits (ladyfinger/sponge biscuits) in their Champagne.

Gingerbread

G is for gingerbread which is really popular in northern France year round, but at Christmas it’s a must-eat. I found it really strange to discover that traditional gingerbread in my part of France has no ginger in it! Instead there are a mix of other spices and it’s actually called pain d’epices, spice bread but it’s translated as gingerbread generally! And yes, as you can see from the photo above, I love gingerbread!

H is for Happy Christmas

H is for ‘Appy Christmas – which is how French people say it when they speak English, they don’t like the H sound! In France you say Joyeux Noël, or bon Noël.

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas

I is for I’m dreaming of a white Christmas. Unless you’re in the French Alps, it’s unlikely you’ll get a white Christmas in most of France. The last time it snowed on Christmas Day in Paris was 2010.

Jolly farmers

Where I live is an agricultural area and, in my village, and the villages around there are lots of farmers and farm workers. It is not an easy job. It’s physically demanding, the weather can be seriously challenging and regulatory requirements are a nightmare. I admire farmers enormously – they work hard to keep us fed. The farmers in my village rarely get a day off – there’s always so much to do. But they do take a bit of time out at Christmas and my most favourite memory is of a party at my neighbour Madame Bernadette’s when four jolly farmers arrived from the next village along. Indulging in one too many of her Calvados cocktails, they went home by the light of the silvery moon in the bucket of a tractor that one of their friends arrived in to collect them!

K is for Kissing under the mistletoe

Or rather not – as the French don’t have this custom on Christmas Eve. Mistletoe is “gui” in French. It’s more common to use holly in France at Christmas for decoration. Le Gui is for New year’s Eve festivities and it’s more about bringing luck than kissing.

Long Christmas Eve dinner

L is for long, long, loooong Christmas Eve meal – called a Reveillon. I once went to one that started at 7pm and finished at 3am. I practically had to crawl home on my hands and knees.

Christmas Markets

Christmas markets in France are the best. That’s all I’m saying. I love Christmas markets. From Arras to Lille, Metz to Avignon – every town and city puts on a festive show and it’s pretty magical!

Read our ultimate guide to Christmas in France – the markets, lights, events and recipes…

Noël

N is for Noël – The French word for Christmas. Noël is also a name – for both boys and girls

Oysters

Oysters – French people go gaga for them. In fact half of the oysters eating in France are consumed between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve a whopping 75000 tonnes of them

16th century French King Henri IV was said to eat an eye-popping 300 of them at a time. His grandson Louis XIV had them delivered fresh daily to Versailles or wherever he was and was known to eat six dozen at a time. Diderot the French philosopher and Voltaire the writer and philosopher ate them for inspiration, as did Napoleon Bonaparte before going into battle. Casanova, the 18th century lover, used to breakfast on 50 oysters… he wouldn’t be kissing me on Christmas morning I can tell you that much!

Pere Noël

P is for Pere Noël… Everyone knows about Father Christmas Pere Noël or Papa Noël but what about Pere Fouettard? In the northeast of France, Father Christmas is said to have an assistant, Pere Fouettard and if you’re naughty instead of presents and sweets, he turns up carrying a small whip and punishes the naughtiest kids! What? If you’re only a little bit naughty you get a lump of coal instead. And if you’re really really naughty, he stuffs you into a basket and carries you off. Blimey. Motivational stories – French style…

Quirky santas

Q is for quirky swinging Santas …. horrible blow-up plastic Father Christmas figures, which hang from a rope or plastic ladder. In my part of France they are very keen on inflatable Father Christmases. They hang from the windows of houses and look like festive peeping toms clutching onto windowsills – the plastic Santas, not the locals. The Santas are tied to chimneys and gutters, swings and doorways, windows and gates. On a dark night, they’re quite creepy, a bit like festive peeping toms. On a windy day they sway back and forth, holding on to the rope for dear life or are blown away to burst on a prickly bush.

Galette des Rois

R is for Galette des Rois – Traditionally eaten on 6th January – the Kings Cake eaten in honour of the Day of the Epiphany. These cakes start appearing in shops just before Christmas. In the south they’re more a brioche cake with crystalised fruit on top, in the north we have a puff pastry pie filled with almond paste. A little figurine is hidden inside called a feve. Traditionally it would be a religious figure but now it can be anything – I’ve seen tiny Lady Gagas and Harry Potters!

Whoever has a slice of the cake with the ‘fève’ in is the King or Queen for a day. They get to wear a golden crown which comes with the cake when you buy it. Often, the youngest person at the meal sits under the table and calls out the names of those seated and slices of cake are served accordingly. That way whoever gets the ‘fève’ is completely randomly chosen!

When the cake is served tension mounts. Everyone chews their slice with an element of care – you don’t want to break a tooth. And it wouldn’t do to swallow the ‘fève’! Read about the galette des rois in Issue 36 of our free magazine The Good Life France Magazine

Strasbourg – and snails

S is for Strasbourg – This French city, the Capital of Alsace is nicknamed the capital of Christmas. It’s fairy tale pretty and very atmospheric.

S is also for snails which are popular at Christmas with a strong green garlic sauce (to disguise the taste!).

Christmas tree

T is for Tree. Sapin de Noël. This custom first appeared in Alsace in the 14th century and traditional decorations included apples, paper flowers, and ribbons.

Utterly delicious

U is for utterly delicious cakes and pastries which you have to eat at Christmas! Every region has their specialities but I’m not sure anywhere beats my region of Pas-de-Calais!

Vin Chaud

V is for vin chaud. Christmas markets and bars all over France served mulled wine at Christmas. The best one I’ve ever had was at Arras market in the far north – a red wine with hints of spice and sugar and a prune from the Agen region (famous for its prunes). If I shut my eyes and picture it in my mind, I feel like I can smell the star anise, and cinnamon, a little hint of ginger perhaps and orange and the steam wafting up to my nose… Here’s how to make it at home: Vinchaudrecipe

What’s it like at Christmas in France?

W is for what’s it like at Christmas? In cities and big towns everything is decorated in festive style and there are Christmas markets. In rural areas it’s much quieter. On the whole, where I live you wouldn’t even know it was Christmas until maybe the week before when the Mayor organises for the single string of lights that hangs all year round in a tree outside the town hall to be switched on. The most obvious sign that it’s that time of the year are the quirky inflatable Santas (see Q).

Extremely full

X is for Xtremely full up. What we all are after Christmas. Even though we immediately start thinking about doing it all again for New Year’s Eve! It’s traditional at Christmas to have some kind a pre-main meal (for kids) before the midnight mass. Then you come back and you have the proper Christmas meal. Then a nice breakfast (a treat of croissants or pain au chocolat, dipped into hot chocolate), then the grandparents join the family for Christmas lunch – all afternoon. It never stops.

Yule Log cake

Y is for yule log cake – büche de Noël. The büche de Noel cake represents a traditional log that used to be burned on the night of the winter solstice to bring good luck. Now it’s a sweet treat that pretty much everyone enjoys at Christmas. In Antibes – they go over the top for the büche – there each year they create the longest büche de noel in the world – 50 feet long. It takes 800 eggs, 85kg of flour, 10kg am, 20kg sugar, 10 litres run and 40 litres of. Chantilly cream. If you’re a fan of the buche – head to Antibes in mid-December! Want to make one at home – here’s a recipe for French buche de Noel