Christmas in Provence, France
Posted by Administrator in About Provence. Cipro No Prescription Glucotrol For Sale Acomplia Generic Buy Topamax Online Synthroid Without Prescription Inderal No Prescription Nexium For Sale Prevacid Generic Buy Elimite Online Prevacid Without Prescription“Let us rejoice, and may God keep us merry, for Cachofué, the season of All Good, is coming. May God protect us in the year ahead. and if we cannot grow fat, may we at least not be lean!”
In Provence, the Christmas season begins on 4th December, the day of St. Barbe, with the ritual sowing of wheat and lentils on dishes to provide some fresh green shoots to decorate the Christmas table. The Christmas festivities last for three whole days, from 24th to 26th December. Further celebrations are held for the new year, Epiphany on 6th January, Candlemas on 2nd February and also for Shrovetide, which signals the end of winter and the beginning of Lent.
For the people of Provence, Christmas is a series of traditional customs beginning with the “gros souper,” the large supper served on Christmas Eve before Midnight Mass. The table around which the family gathers is decorated according to custom with sprigs of myrtle and St. Barbe’s wheat and lentil sprouts, which are symbols of prosperity.
Additional places are laid for the poor or for parents who have died, and during the whole three days of Christmas the table is not cleared, so as to allow angels to take part in the feasting. Read more