On New Year’s Day in France (le Jour de l’An), it is usual for friends and family gather together to make New Year’s resolutions. Sometimes gifts and cards are exchanged as well. Bonne année et bonne santé! On behalf of everyone here at France.com, we […]
0 Read More
Since 1570, there has been a Christmas market in Strasbourg, and just as then, visitors nowadays can fill themselves full of Christmas cheer in the form of bretzels, mulled wine, candies, and pastries. These days, you can buy all the decorations for your Christmas tree as […]
0 Read More
The tradition of decorating Christmas trees in France goes back to 16th century Alsace, when people would hang apples and nuts from the trees’ branches. However, in 1858, a drought caused the apple harvest to fail, so an enterprising glass blower from Goetzenbruck in Lorraine created […]
0 Read More
Did you know that when children write letters to Santa in France, it is the law that they each receive a postcard by way of a response? The law was passed in 1962.
0 Read More
Foie gras, the goose liver pâté that is the staple of le Réveillon in some regions, actually originated in ancient Egypt 4,500 years ago. Around 500 BC, it spread to Greece but didn’t make it to France (or, as it was then, Gaul) until the Romans brought […]
0 Read More
As in many countries around the world, Christmas in France is a time for family gatherings. On Christmas Eve, instead of stockings however, children leave their shoes in front of the fireplace (or under the tree), so that Père Noël can fill them with gifts. In Northern […]
0 Read More
We’re all used to seeing Nativities decorating our homes, shops, schools, and churches but in Provence, they go one better. Not only do people’s homes have a Nativity but very often, a miniature village to accompany the birth of the baby Jesus as well. These Nativities […]
0 Read More
You wouldn’t expect the French to use just any old wood for their yule logs, would you? Of course not, and you’d be right not to; in France, traditionally, cherrywood logs are used. Not only that but they are sprinkled with red wine so that the […]
0 Read More
Lingua Franca; the language of nobility, and of diplomacy across Europe and the Ottoman Empire, French was the world’s first truly international language until it was replaced in the 20th century by English
0 Read More
Le Métro is such an iconic subway that novelists around the world have featured it in their literary works. Librarian and bibliophile, Bernard Strainchamps, has created this amazing interactive map of stations featured in some of the best classic literature. Hovering over the map below will […]
0 Read More