French Language Blog

In the small, charming village of Viella, France in the  Midi-Pyrénées, you can spend your New Year’s Eve with the fun-filled Vendages et Réveillon du Pacherenc de la Saint-Sylvestre by participating in some early morning wine tasting around 10 AM, playing traditional games, visiting an exhibition by local artists, joining the noontime farmers’ dinner, observing demonstrations at the vineyards in the afternoon, attending an evening mass where priests bless the grapes and the locals dress up in costumes depicting the harvest, then having a gourmet meal at night with plenty of dancing afterwards.  Finally, you can go on a torchlight procession to the vineyards where hot wine is enjoyed by all and Pacherenc grapes are picked at the stroke of midnight.  These grapes are obviously very over-ripe and this over-ripeness produces an exotic, spicy, honey-flavored liqueur.  The wine that is made with these grapes will be bottled and labeled with the designation “Harvested on January 1st”.

The grape harvest marks the culmination of the wine grower’s year of hard work.  What better way to end the year and begin a new one than to celebrate what you have accomplished!
You can read the official program in French here.

Okay, so I’m a bit late with my greeting….
The second Islamic New Year to fall in 2008 on the Gregorian calendar (it also fell on the 10th of January) was yesterday the 29th of December although it actually began at sunset on the 28th and the entire New Year month will last for 29 days.   Since Muslims make up a very large percentage of la Francophonie (the French-speaking world) as there are approximately 5 million Muslims living in France, over 150,000 in Switzerland and around 400,000 in Belgium and French is either an official or administrative language along with Arabic and other languages in many countries of Africa, the Carribean and the Middle East, I thought it was fitting to wish all my best to the Islamic world from this blog.
“Al-Hijra” as it’s called in Arabic is celebrated on the first day of the month of Muharram (the first month) on the Islamic calendar.  It marks the beginning of Hijra which occurred in 622CE when the Prophet Muhammad emigrated from Mecca to Medina and created the first real Islamic community with social, political and economic independence.  It is more of a cultural event as it is a time of meditation rather than a huge celebration, but it is acknowledged and honored throughout the Muslim world.  It is a quiet time when Muslims gather in mosques for special prayers and readings and reflect upon the passing of time and their own mortality.  Muharram is one of the four months during which it is forbidden to wage war or fight.  I think it is beautiful and admirable that peace is “officialized” in that way.
The next Islamic New Year will fall on the 18th of December on the Gregorian calendar as the Islamic calendar is lunar rather than solar-based.

Today I came across this expression ‘conducteur du dimanche‘ which is the same in French as English…the ‘Sunday driver’ and I began thinking back to my time living in the outskirts of Paris and how I loved to take the car on Sunday or go with a friend on a Sunday on a drive to Versailles or Saint-Germain-en-Laye or another such history-filled place and just stroll around.  One of my very favorites was Fountainebleau.  I’m not sure if this is because the royal grounds are so very charming or because I was always on the lookout for Charlotte or Caroline of Monaco as supposedly that is where they reside most of the year (at least at the time) and where the children went to school.  In any case, it always seemed as we had our coffee at a café in the town center or walked up to the gates of the residence that you could really feel the history there despite all the people walking about in their very modern and fashionable clothes.

For some, Fountainebleau, which is located about 34.5 miles to the southeast of Paris and is home to one of the largest royal châteaux (castles) in France, evokes the palace.  Others quickly think of the dense woods and yet others, of the horse competitions.  It is a remarkable place really and one where you can quickly become lost in thoughts of being invited to a great royal hunt or a glamorous royal ball.
The Castle was lived in by all French Queens, Kings, Emperors and Empresses from François I to Napoleon III.  The state apartments are open daily to the public except on Tuesdays.  On certain days, there are tours of the small apartments which house the Napoleon I museum.  The five main courtyards, gardens and parks are open every day and I recommend taking a horse-drawn carriage ride around them.  Despite the somewhat kitschy commentary, the feeling you get is quite majestic.  Click here for some panoramic views of Fountainebleau.