Like many elements of France, Provence has traditions that return centuries. Lots of them encompass Christmas, a very powerful vacation of the 12 months. Let’s take a look at a number of.
Sainte-Barbe’s Wheat
The Provençal Christmas season begins on December 4, Saint Barbara’s day. That is when households fill three small dishes—three representing the Trinity—with moist cotton balls sprinkled with wheat seeds. These are saved moist within the hopes that the seeds will sprout.
Twenty days later, on December 24, if the wheat has grown straight and inexperienced, it’s stated there might be a very good harvest the next 12 months. But when the wheat is sickly or bent over, be careful!
Nativity Scenes
Cities throughout France have nativity scenes, referred to as crèches, however in Provence they’re uniquely completely different. Right here you received’t discover Jesus, Mary, and Joseph surrounded by clever males. As a substitute, the crèche provençal is stuffed with santons, these cute little collectible figurines that depict characters from village life just like the baker and the fishwife.
It’s because the show of crèches, like a lot of non secular life, was banned in the course of the French Revolution. So, a intelligent artist from Marseille invented santons and turned the crèche right into a “village scene” utilizing his collectible figurines as a substitute of the same old Biblical characters. Fortunately, the anti-religious zealots of the Revolution someway missed the truth that santon means “little saint.”
Parades
Parades happen throughout Provence in the course of the Christmas season, with songs performed on fifes and tambourines and townspeople in conventional costume. Particularly in style is the woman’s Arlésienne outfit, a protracted, flowing costume with scarves over the shoulders, and hair pinned up.
Maybe probably the most entertaining parade is the bravade calendale of Aix-en-Provence. Right here you’ll see paraders prancing about dressed as dancing horses, and younger males with enormous flags, spinning and hurling them within the air like jugglers.
Aix should actually like parades as a result of on January 6 (Epiphany) they maintain a Three Kings parade the place clever males and reside camels stroll down the primary thoroughfare—it’s extremely popular with youngsters!
Meals
A conventional Christmas dinner in Provence concludes with treize desserts (13 desserts.) Like many Christmas traditions, it is filled with spiritual symbolism—13, for instance, represents the variety of folks on the Final Supper.
As for what desserts to serve, every household decides for itself however fruits and nuts, candies, and a few form of sweetened bread are often included, plus calisson cookies from Aix. And plenty of households serve two sorts of nougat, one white and one black, to represent good and evil.
Learn extra concerning the 23 desserts of Provence
The Pastrage
Sheep have been part of Provençal life for millennia, and a lamb is usually used to represent the newborn Jesus. Throughout the pastrage, a cortege of shepherds arrives at church with a child lamb, typically as a part of a midnight mass. The lamb is then positioned right into a nativity scene, with townspeople enjoying the assorted roles.
Keith Van Sickle splits his time between Provence and California. He’s the creator of An Insider’s Information to Provence, One Sip at a Time, and Are We French But? Learn extra at Life in Provence
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