It may be time to wind down the season and maybe even leave the warmth of our winter beds, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop celebrating the holidays! While we wait for the new year, there’s still some time to enjoy les fêtes (the holidays) and learn one more chant de Noël (Christmas carol) en français.

Image from Pixabay. Licensed under CC0.

Whether you need to find a way to help ton nouveau-né (your newborn) fall asleep or you want to learn how to say Foutaises ! (Bah Humbug!), there is a lot of vocabulary to learn in all the fun of the season. Unlike l’Halloween, Noël has a long history in France and that comes with all sorts of songs and poems to create the winter wonderland atmosphere in everyone’s heart during the month of December.

La magie du Père Noël et ses elfes (the magic of Santa and his elves) paints a snowy picture of decorations, presents, a warm fireplace, and les marchés de Noël (Christmas markets). Cependant (however), the reality of Christmas, at least à Paris, is rarely filled with snow. It may be cold and rainy, but having a real white Christmas is somewhat rare for la ville des lumières (The City of Light, term for Paris).

Cela dit (that said), the famous song, Noël Blanc (White Christmas) does exist en français and paints a similar image to la version anglaise (the English version). It’s a more contemporary song by Bing Crosby in 1941, but has become an international trademark of l’ésprit (the spirit) of the season. La version française (the French version) is slightly different from la version originale, but like most other chants de Noël, it’s still instantly recognizable, making it easy to follow along.

Après tout (after all), it’s not a big problem and les paroles différentes (the different lyrics) just add to the fun for French learners! So while you have a few moments in between le nouvel an et Noël (New Year’s and Christmas), take a moment to listen to le chant de Noël and keep dreaming of a peaceful holiday time.

Voici la chanson en version française avec les paroles et une traduction anglaise (Here’s the song in French with the lyrics and an English translation):

Noël blanc
White Christmas

Oh ! quand j’entends chanter Noël
J’aime revoir mes joies d’enfant
Le sapin scintillant, la neige d’argent
Noël mon beau rêve blanc

Oh! when I hear Christmas singing
I love seeing my childhood joys again
The sparkling fir tree, the silver snow
Christmas, my beautiful white dream

Oh ! quand j’entends sonner au ciel
L’heure où le bon vieillard descend
Je revois tes yeux clairs, Maman !
Et je songe à d’autres Noëls blancs

Oh! when I hear the bell ringing in the sky
The hour when the good old man rides on down
I see your clear eyes again, Mom!
And I’m dreaming of other white Christmases

Oh ! quand j’entends sonner au ciel
L’heure où le bon vieillard descend
Je revois tes yeux clairs, Maman
Et je songe à d’autres Noëls blancs

Oh ! when I hear the bell ringing in the sky
The hour when the good old man rides on down
I see your clear eyes again, Mom
And I’m dreaming of other white Christmases