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Archive for December, 2010

“Vive le Vent”: the French “Jingle Bells” Posted by on Dec 24, 2010

So far, we have seen two French Carols throughout this week: – “Petit Papa Noël (A French Carol)“ – “Rodolphe le renne au nez rouge (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer)“ Today, and since you’ve already asked for this one specifically, we’ll feature “Vive le Vent”, otherwise known to les anglophones as Jingle Bells! * VIVE LE VENT…

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in French Posted by on Dec 23, 2010

Connais-tu les prénoms de tous les rennes du Père Noël ? (Do you know the names of all of Santa’s reindeer?) At their first performance ever, borrowing their noms de scènes (stage names) from an early 19th century American poem, there were only eight rennes du Père Noël (Santa Claus’s reindeer.) Those original eight are…

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Petit Papa Noël (A French Carol) Posted by on Dec 23, 2010

Joyeux Noël à tous!   Eh oui, c’est déjà Noël ! * * * A cette occasion (On this occasion), we wish to present you a special French chanson de noël (Christmas Carol) interpreted by a famous Corsican named Tino Rossi (Hence the accent that sounds -can you tell?-more italien than French!)  * * * * Petit Papa…

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Éclipse lunaire (Moon Eclipse) et Solstice d’hiver (Winter Solstice) Posted by on Dec 22, 2010

Pendant que j’écris ces lignes (While I am writing these lines), two natural phenomenons are occurring in the same time dans notre ciel (in our sky), and the last time this cosmic coincidence happened, it was almost 400 years ago! Back then, Europe was still plunged into the so-called Guerre de Trente ans(Thirty Years’ War); there was…

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L’Agence Tous Risques: The French A-Team Posted by on Dec 17, 2010

If you grew up in les années 80 (the 80’s) or are old enough to remember them, there is no way you have not seen or heard of this American series. You probably watched it in your own language, either doublée (dubbed) or with des sous-titrages (subtitles). In France, it was known as “l’Agence tous risques“…

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Christmas Markets in France Posted by on Dec 16, 2010

Après la Hanoukka, la fête des lumières pour la communauté juive (after Hanukkah, the festival of lights for the Jewish community)… I’m really excited for Christmas! The eight nights of Hanukkah are outlasted by the many, many days of réjouissances (festivities) that lead to Noël, or Christmas. The best pre-holiday tradition, au moins en France…

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European National Mottos in French Posted by on Dec 14, 2010

 Quelques devises nationales en Europe (Some national mottos in Europe) – L’Union européenne: “Unie dans la diversité“ – Albanie: “Les Albanais placent leur foi dans l’Albanie” (Which would sound like “In Albania We Trust”) – Allemagne: “Unité et Droit et Liberté” – Andorre: “L’union fait la force” (But also “Touche-moi si tu oses”, meaning “Touch…

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