{"id":29480,"date":"2017-12-26T16:35:16","date_gmt":"2017-12-26T15:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=29480"},"modified":"2017-12-26T16:36:14","modified_gmt":"2017-12-26T15:36:14","slug":"french-culture-christmas-traditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-culture-christmas-traditions\/","title":{"rendered":"French Culture – Christmas Traditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m a little late, but before we get started, I’d like to wish all those who celebrate around the world, un tr\u00e8s Joyeux No\u00ebl! <\/strong>(a very Merry Christmas!)<\/em>. And speaking of No\u00ebl<\/strong>, did you ever wonder (like I did recently) where that word comes from or just what it means? If so, read on to find out more … and to learn about one of my very favorite traditions de No\u00ebl<\/strong> (Christmas traditions).<\/em><\/p>\n

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L’arbre de No\u00ebl<\/strong> \/ The Christmas Tree<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

No\u00ebl<\/strong>\/ Christmas<\/em><\/p>\n

I’ve always found the word No\u00ebl <\/em>a bit of an enigma. Compared to it’s nearby European neighbors, No\u00ebl <\/em>doesn’t say much at all. The English word Christmas is pretty self-explanatory (as are the Spanish\u00a0Feliz Navidad \/ Joyous (<\/em>or Happy) birth<\/em> and German\u00a0Frohe (<\/em>or\u00a0Fr\u00f6hliche) Weihnachten \/ Merry (<\/em>or Joyful) Holy Night). <\/em><\/p>\n

To answer my question I started where I often do, on the internet . . . which as is often the case, was both less than helpful, and full of fun surprises. In the end though, with a little sleuthing (and the help once again of my trusty Petit Larousse<\/a>), I was able to confirm that the most likely origins* of the word No\u00ebl<\/em> (and of its meaning) is a transformation of the Latin phrase natalis dies \/ day of birth <\/em>with the dies<\/em> dropped and the natalis<\/em> losing some consonants and ‘softening up’ so to speak as words do over time.<\/p>\n

One other thing about No\u00ebl<\/em> that often confused me was that, despite the fact that No\u00ebl<\/em> is a masculine noun (as attested to by the Joyeux**), <\/em>I would sometimes hear people talk about la No\u00ebl.<\/em> The reason it turns out is actually quite simple: while No\u00ebl<\/em> is masculine, the word for holiday<\/em> in French (f\u00eate<\/strong>) is feminine, and when someone says la No\u00ebl, <\/em>what they’re really saying is la (f\u00eate de) No\u00ebl . . . <\/em>and leaving out the f\u00eate!<\/em><\/p>\n

Le R\u00e9veillon<\/strong> \/ Christmas eve dinner<\/em><\/p>\n

Like anyone, I like les cadeaux<\/strong> (pressents). <\/em>And I have to admit that I get a little carried away with les d\u00e9corations et l’arbre de <\/strong>No\u00ebl<\/strong> (the decorations and the Christmas tree).<\/em> But my very favorite Christmas tradition has to be the Christmas Eve (or sometimes as the case may be, very, very early Christmas morning!) dinner. Traditionally held after la messe de minuit<\/strong> (midnight church service)<\/em>, le R\u00e9veillon<\/strong> reunites family and friends around a wonderful meal, wines, and festive desserts<\/a>. A few years ago, fellow blogger Josh D. wrote a great post all about le R\u00e9veillon <\/strong>here<\/a> where you can read all about the traditions. For this year, I thought I’d share some photos of my own from some of my favorite Christmas Eve meals through the years.<\/p>\n

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No\u00ebl 1985 during my first trip to France. Check out that bottle of wine!<\/p><\/div>\n

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1992 found me back in France for my second R\u00e9veillon.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Since marrying into my French Canadian in-laws, le R\u00e9veillon has once again become part of our family Christmas traditions. There are more people around the table than in those early R\u00e9veillons but it just makes the holiday brighter!<\/p><\/div>\n

* Other theories on the origins of the world No\u00ebl include older pre-Christian Gaelic and Celtic pagan celebrations to the returning sun god (the winter solstice – December 21 – being the shortest day in the northern hemisphere).
\n** If No\u00ebl<\/em> were a feminine noun, we would say Joyeuse No\u00ebl . . . <\/em>But of course we don’t. That would be wrong.<\/p>\n

Image Credits:
\nAll images courtesy of \/ copyright Tim Hildreth 1985 – 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

I’m a little late, but before we get started, I’d like to wish all those who celebrate around the world, un tr\u00e8s Joyeux No\u00ebl! (a very Merry Christmas!). And speaking of No\u00ebl, did you ever wonder (like I did recently) where that word comes from or just what it means? If so, read on to…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":29481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,13],"tags":[2149,284,11656,316,329,357,432,12514],"class_list":["post-29480","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-vocabulary","tag-france","tag-free-french-lessons","tag-french-blog","tag-french-culture","tag-french-expressions","tag-french-language","tag-french-vocabulary","tag-vocabulaire-francais"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t