{"id":81035,"date":"2016-12-13T13:12:26","date_gmt":"2016-12-13T02:12:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/?p=81035"},"modified":"2016-12-13T13:12:26","modified_gmt":"2016-12-13T02:12:26","slug":"exploring-provence-gros-souper-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/2016\/12\/13\/exploring-provence-gros-souper-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Provence: Christmas in the Var"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MyFrenchLife\u2122<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

We have only spent one Christmas in Provence.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>As an Aussie, I prefer the traditions we have carved out in the southern hemisphere. But having also lived in the UK, and putting aside the cold, I can appreciate the spectacle starting late afternoon as the lights come on illuminating the towns and streets and houses with sparkling decorations to cheer the darkness. And of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas in Provence without a Proven\u00e7al\u00a0gros souper.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Proven\u00e7al style Christmas<\/span><\/h1>\n

It wasn\u2019t particularly cold for our\u00a0Christmas in Les Arcs-sur-Argens<\/a>,\u00a0so the town got together and manufactured some snow that floated through the central square during the\u00a0annual\u00a0Christmas\u00a0market<\/a>.\u00a0The forecourt of the\u00a0Mairie<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>(Town Hall) was filled with tiny Christmas trees and\u00a0P\u00e8re<\/i>\u00a0No\u00ebl<\/i>\u00a0(Father Christmas) was set up to welcome delighted young children who each received a present.<\/p>\n

\"MyFrenchLife\u2122<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the town\u2019s band, all dressed in Father Christmas suits, played recognisable carols and others that I didn\u2019t know, but have since learned are either distinctly\u00a0French\u00a0<\/a>or\u00a0Proven\u00e7al<\/i>.\u00a0<\/i>The plane trees that grace the square with their leafy shade in the summer had all been\u00a0pollarded\u00a0and looked like fingers reaching to the sky.\u00a0The streets were illuminated and the\u00a0donjon\u00a0<\/i>(castle keep) that towers above the town bore the words\u00a0\u2018<\/i>Joyeuses<\/i>\u00a0F\u00eates\u2019<\/i>\u00a0for the holiday season.<\/p>\n

The traditional\u00a0<\/em>gros souper<\/span><\/h1>\n

\"MyFrenchLife\u2122<\/p>\n

Le\u00a0gros\u00a0souper\u00a0<\/em>or big supper (which is followed in Provence by the traditional 13 desserts) is still a strong\u00a0proven\u00e7<\/i>al<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>tradition\u00a0<\/a>on Christmas Eve and is a huge family affair before midnight mass.<\/p>\n

The 13 desserts represent Jesus and the apostles (who actually were not around at the time of his birth!) and comprise dried fruit and nuts, quince paste, biscotti, nougat,\u00a0b\u00fbche<\/i>\u00a0de No\u00ebl<\/i>\u00a0(Christmas log),\u00a0pain\u00a0<\/i>d\u2019\u00e9pices<\/i>\u00a0(spiced bread), and other small delicacies.<\/p>\n

Sadly the year we stayed for Christmas, we turned up at the church just before midnight \u2013 along with a Norwegian couple who also have a house in the town \u2013 to find it had taken place at 6pm! We still don\u2019t know why.<\/p>\n

Tradition has it that after the\u00a0gros<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>souper<\/i>, the tablecloth is not entirely cleared of crumbs or leftovers following the meal.\u00a0It is left overnight and on Christmas Day, the four corners of the tablecloth are brought together and it is picked up (a bit like a sack) and the crumbs of the\u00a0gros<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>souper<\/i>\u00a0are then shaken out into the field to ensure a good harvest the following year.<\/p>\n

Mind you, I didn\u2019t see anyone do this \u2013 it\u2019s more a rural tradition than a town one, I think!<\/p>\n

\"MyFrenchLife\u2122<\/i><\/p>\n

Joyeux\u00a0No\u00ebl \u00e0\u00a0tous!\u00a0<\/em> Happy Christmas to all.<\/p>\n

\n

Have you ever spent the festive season in France? What were the typical Christmas traditions of the region?\u00a0<\/strong>Join the discussion in the comments below!<\/p>\n

\n
Image Credits:
\n1. Table du Gros Souper de No\u00ebl, tradition proven\u00e7ale. Via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>
\n2-4. \u00a9 Jan Leishman
\n5. Le Gros Souper,\u00a0<\/em>by Kate & Markus. Via ardechewalks<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/address>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Step into the festive spirit and find out how Christmas is celebrated Proven\u00e7al style.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9446,"featured_media":81178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[1132,1081],"tags":[1391,4159,1755,4161,1757,4162,1778,4163,153,1792,172,1829,191,2655,213,3282,220,3705,236,3843,253,3901,281,4154,357,4155,384,4156,436,4157,1091,4158],"class_list":["post-81035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations","category-escapades","tag-myfrenchlife-org","tag-christmas-in-the-var","tag-christmas-in-france","tag-big-supper","tag-french-traditions","tag-pere-noel","tag-christmas-in-provence","tag-jan-leishman","tag-christmas","tag-southern-france","tag-culture","tag-christmas-markets","tag-escapades-2","tag-provence-alpes-cote-dazur","tag-france","tag-myfrenchlife","tag-french","tag-maviefrancaise","tag-french-guide","tag-les-arcs-sur-argens","tag-french-thread","tag-exploring-provence","tag-in-english","tag-provencal","tag-noel","tag-festivities","tag-places-to-go","tag-gros-souper","tag-things-to-do","tag-the-big-supper","tag-cultural-differences","tag-13-desserts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}