Autumn in France means la Rentrée – a really French factor! It actually means ‘the return’, which sounds fairly mysterious, the subject of a thriller movie maybe, but it surely’s in no way.
With the summer season holidays over, the children return to high school, and virtually everybody will get again to work and into their regular routines which in France is called la rentrée. However it’s extra than simply the return to routine – it’s a cultural factor that’s distinctive to France.
I mentioned virtually everybody goes again to regular, however the mamies and the papies, the grannies and grandpas who sorted the children within the faculty holidays – they now take time without work for their very own holidays to benefit from the autumn solar. And for anybody who doesn’t prefer it too sizzling, as it may be in July and August, or who desires to go to France with out the vacation crowds – autumn is the proper time to go to France.
La rentree
What does it actually imply la rentrée? Effectively, colleges return usually the primary Monday of September so there’s a last-minute panic the week earlier than, to get schoolbooks, pens and so on prepared. Do you know that the lengthy holidays are as a result of historically youngsters had been wanted to assist out with the harvest time? And it’s mentioned that the primary recorded official lengthy break granted was within the yr 1231 as a result of there have been so few college students in universities throughout harvest time. It wasn’t a break for a vacation like now, however in order that college students may go residence and assist out – and truly it was nonetheless the case that the summer season break was about 10 weeks lengthy till fairly just lately and farming households may request even longer off faculty for teenagers over 12 in the event that they had been wanted to assist out. It was within the Nineteen Eighties that faculty summer season holidays started to comply with the sample we’ve now – usually the entire of July and August.
There’s no rush for a college uniform in France like there’s within the UK – effectively not formally, usually children put on denims, a type of unofficial uniform.
And do you know that denims are French – type of? They had been in fact really invented by Levi Strauss in America. Legend has it that he went to San Francisco to hitch within the California Gold Rush and took some dry items to promote, like wagon covers and canvas for tents. A prospector mentioned to him – you must have purchased pants – as a result of everybody struggled to get a pair of pants (trousers to Brits), that would take the powerful work and last more than a number of weeks.
Strauss was a wise cookie and took the problem on. He settled on a troublesome cotton material referred to as serge de Nimes, a cotton produced in Nimes, southern France. It was dyed blue as a result of that was the most affordable color dye and it was so robust it was used as tarpaulin. Strauss known as the pants ‘denims’ after the blue dye known as ‘genoa’ and he known as the material denim – from the title serge de Nimes. And his denims had been an enormous success. In France they did one thing a bit totally different. The material was made into jackets, overalls and trousers. They weren’t like denims, no copper rivets or colored stitching. And so they had been known as ‘bleu de travail’ blues for work. They’re nonetheless widespread in rural areas and for individuals with jobs that contain guide work, while denims are widespread in every single place – the uniform of life actually.
La rentrée can be about getting again to work, the French usually don’t stress an excessive amount of about that although, there’s no rush to be busy. They spend time sharing tales of holidays, principally what they cooked and what they ate, that is France in spite of everything, and so they gently ease themselves again in.
September can be the time when the politicians get again to work after their lengthy luxurious holidays within the solar. And it’s the time of la rentrée litteraire. It’s conventional for brand spanking new books to be printed and launched to the market then, principally as a result of there are two large literary prizes awarded in October and November in France, so September is an effective time to publish.
And it’s the time when the humanities world will get a renewed lease of life and a great deal of new exhibitions begin in museums and galleries throughout France and particularly in Paris.
For me la rentrée can be a time for gardening. In my village everybody will probably be harvesting their fruit and greens in gardens, and naturally the farmers are within the fields getting crops in earlier than the cooler climate hits. My neighbours, all of whom are eager cooks, will probably be making jam, chutneys and sauces, and freezing summer season vegatables and fruits. Potatoes will probably be dug up and hoarded in cellars, carrots saved in packing containers of sand. Pumpkins are prepared for harvesting and there’s at all times a contest to see who grew the largest within the village. One yr, my neighbour managed to develop one which was so large nobody may elevate it and it needed to be rolled right into a tractor bucket to be taken out of the backyard. I believe you may have put wheels on it and pushed it into city. I’ve been attempting for years to win, but it surely’s a fiercely fought competitors, and my neighbour Jean-Claude is a frequent title holder and goes round telling everybody that he’s ‘largest pumpkin of the yr.”
We see a whole lot of wild animals this time of the yr, pheasant, deer, hedgehogs, wild pigs, sangliers in French. . They’re usually shy creatures although I learn within the newspaper that in Nancy, in Lorraine, northeast France, a wild pig ran in to a grocery store and went on the rampage, a type of grocery store sweep. It broke issues and knocked over shows till it was cornered by a safety guard armed with a flowerpot. True.
Welcome to la rentrée.
Janine Marsh is the creator of a number of internationally best-selling books about France. Her newest ebook be French – a celebration of the French life-style and artwork de vivre, is out now – a have a look at the French lifestyle. Discover all books on her web site janinemarsh.com
Need extra France?
Uncover extra fabulous locations in France with our free journal The Good Life France
Love France? Have a hearken to our podcast – all the pieces you need to learn about France and extra!
All rights reserved. This text is probably not printed, broadcast, rewritten (together with translated) or redistributed with out written permission.
