In Life in Paris

French 101: Christmas traditions

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This was my first Christmas in France!!! Here are 5 things that I’ve observed.

1 Clean shoes

Place your shoes below the tree (or ideally, under the chimney) on 24th December. That’s right, no socks! Make sure your shoes don’t smell is essential 😉 Your family will then place your presents under or next to your shoes. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you 😛

french-christmas-tradition-shoes-9913.JPG

2 Unboxing is on 25th Dec

Unbox is on the 25th December morning and ALL family members MUST be present. The kids couldn’t sleep at all wahaha

 

3 Christmas eve, Christmas lunch, dinner…

The meals are all huge and with lots of punch, aperitif, champagne, wine, digestif… So after day one, all meals started to blur into one. Referring to my other post, please be reminded that ‘food coma’ does not exist in the French culture. Therefore, be strong and do NOT nap in between. Nap is not an option. Nieces and nephews will not let me either.

cancale-oysters-huitres-brittany-0415
Oyster (more for new year according to historians, but my family seem to have it for Christmas as well)

4 Solution to food coma

Option A – very loud children

Option B – go for a walk, no matter how coldla-frette-walk-around-0731.JPG

frosty-la-frette-leaves-0973
Look closely… frosted leaves

5 Traditional food

  • Foie Gras (cold)
  • Compote (meshed apples / apples sauce)
  • Boudin blanc(beef sausage)
  • Chestnut
  • Salmon
  • Turkey
  • Duck
  • Oyster (more for new year according to historians, but my family seem to have it for Christmas as well).

*Champagne is a daily thing, right? This is France 😛 (joking)

boudin-blacnc-french-beef-sausage-christmas-9752
Boudin blanc (beef sausage). It does not contain any organs.

 

 

That’s it! My ‘French Christmas’ observation is based on my family’s tradition. Perhaps you do it differently? Please do share. 😀

 

Camera: Canon 5D mark 3, Sony Z3+

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Author

Salut, I am Joyce. 40 something living in Paris. Appreciate little things and share giggles. Prudent, no nonsense reviews. #ExploreLaughRepeat

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