Bastille Day
Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille, which marked the beginning of the French Revolution on July 14, 1789. The Bastille was a prison and a symbol of the absolute monarchy and the storming of it commemorated that the people no longer wanted the king’s power to be absolute. Bastille Day symbolizes the beginning of the French Republc. Bastille Day became a holiday many years later and is similar to the U.S.’s 4th of July or Independence Day.
Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday
Mardi Gras takes place the day before Lent begins. The official colors of Mardi Gras are purple, le violet, which signifies justice, gold, l’or, which signifies power, and green, vert, which signifies faith.
The slogan of Mardi Gras is “let the good times roll” or “Laissez les bons temps rouler” and masks are often worn during Mardi Gras.
St. Nicolas Day or la fête de Saint Nicolas
On St. Nicolas Day, French children put their shoes in front of the fireplace, hoping that Père Noël will fill their shoes with little things like candy, fruit, small toys, etc. On Christmas itself, some French families go to Midnight Mass, or La Messe de Minuit on Christmas Eve. After la Mess de Minuit, some families have a huge feast, known as le Réveillon.
French deserts during French Christmas season include la bûche de Noël ( a Yule Log), which is a traditional log-shaped cake, usually made with chocolate and chestnuts and la galette des rois, which is a King’s cake. It is a cake baked with a little charm inside and whoever finds the charm is the King or Queen and sometimes gets to choose someone to kiss.
There are many French Christmas Carols. Below is a link to “Au Royaume du bonhomme hiver”, which is the French equivalent to “Winter Wonderland.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba_2n9zeDGA
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