Traditionally, le Père Noël brings toys to good little boys and girls after evening Mass on Christmas Eve. 3. Children do not leave Santa Claus milk and cookies. French adults rarely drink milk and will usually laugh at the idea of a leaving a glass of milk for a grown man, even if he is Santa.
People come together in cathedrals and churches across the country to pray and sing carols (known as Chants de Noël). They celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, believed to have happened on that night. After the service, people return home to either sleep, eat, or open presents (for those with excited little ones).
According to History.com, the monk who over time would evolve into Santa Claus was born in what is now modern-day Turkey in 280 A.D., making him a whopping 1,741 years old!
In France, Santa Claus is known as Père Noël, and in the French colonies of The New World, came to be called Papa Noël.
Nicholas: The Real Santa Claus. The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey.
“The real reason for the selection of Dec. 25 seems to have been that it is exactly nine months after March 25, the traditional date of Jesus' crucifixion. … As Christians developed the theological idea that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same date, they set the date of his birth nine months later.”
Just like turkey is to Thanksgiving, a French Christmas main dish is almost always a large roasted “dinde” (turkey). A French Christmas turkey is traditionally made with a chestnut stuffing, and served with roasted potatoes, chestnuts and sometimes cooked apples around it.
In French Happy/Merry Christmas is 'Joyeux Noël'. In Breton (spoken by some people in Brittany, Northern France) it's 'Nedeleg Laouen', in Corsican it's 'Bon Natale' and in Alsatian (spoken by some people in Alsace, in Eastern France) it's 'E güeti Wïnâchte'.
Paris in Christmas means twinkling lights (at the Eiffel Tower and fancy stores), fun window displays, stylish trees, ice-skating, and tasty treats (chestnuts, oysters, and Yule log cakes). In Burgundy, carols ring out at church and a family preps a special dinner.
According to the blog Email Santa, Santa Claus is 1,751 years old as of 2022. In fact, the origins of Santa Claus can be traced all the way back to a monk named Saint Nicholas, who was born between 260 and 280 A.D.
Claus almost never have children in any of their many depictions, there is at least one Christmas Burlesque musical from 1892 that features Kitty Claus, the daughter of Santa. Not surprisingly, it wasn't a classic. It looks like Santa's family tree ends with he and Mrs. Claus for now.
While there is no perfect age to have this conversation, it is generally best to wait for your child to ask you first. Often, parents start noticing their children becoming skeptical around eight years old, but this can vary.
For example, for Americans, Christmas colors are red and green and Hanukkah colors are blue and white/silver. But in France, there's none of that going on at all.
Things have changed since, but few French people send greetings cards in December; they send them throughout January until the 31st, which is the dateline! The popularity of greeting cards has never ceased growing since, but the Internet has brought a new dimension: virtual greeting cards.
Christmas customs, originating in the Middle East, were introduced to France by the Romans. Reims was the site of the first French Christmas celebration when, in 496, Clovis and his 3,000 warriors were baptized. Bishop Rémi had purposely chosen the day of the Nativity for this ceremony.
It really depends on each family; our family celebrates for around six days, spending three days with one side of the family, and three days with the other. However, for some, the celebrations begin on St Nicholas' Day on 6th December and do not finish until January 6th (the Kings' Day).