• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
FREE REPORT
BEST PLACES TO RETIRE
*No spam: We will NEVER give your email address to anyone else.
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Panama
      • Portugal
      • Colombia
      • Northern Cyprus
      • Belize
      • Spain
      • Mexico
      • France
      • Indonesia
      • Vietnam
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Panama
      • Portugal
      • Colombia
      • Northern Cyprus
      • Belize
      • Spain
      • Mexico
      • France
      • Indonesia
      • Vietnam
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result
Home Countries France

Planning For Christmas In France

Our First Christmas In France...

Lucy Culpepper by Lucy Culpepper
Dec 09, 2020
in France, Lifestyle, Travel
0 0
0
Decorated Christmas trees covered with snow near the Eiffel tower in Paris, France.

iStock/encrier

242
SHARES
3.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

For my family and me, one of the greatest things about living an expat life has been the combining of our own holiday traditions with those of our adopted country.

Our First Christmas As Expats

Christmas dinner with roasted chicken and various vegetables dishes.
iStock/Sarsmis

Our first year in Pau in the Pyrenees-Atlantic department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, was spent with another expat family who, like us, had decided to stay in their new home country rather than race “back home” to meet up with family scattered all over the place.

So we celebrated Noël and Christmas.

Noël is the French word for Christmas and comes from “les bonnes nouvelles” or “the good news,” as in the good news of the coming of Christ.

My friend and I divided the mainly food-related work between us. She got to search for a turkey, I assembled all the sides, including cranberry sauce, parsnips, and Brussel sprouts—a must-have for any British Christmas Day lunch.

Raw cranberries and sprouts can be found in most French supermarkets these days, but parsnips? They’re animal fodder, right?

No, they are divine when roasted with a splash of orange juice and are almost, but not quite, impossible to find in France at Christmastime. I persuaded the owner of the local fresh produce store to snag me a kilo on a trip to Spain, where they are more common.

While I struggled with the veg, my friend searched and searched for a decent turkey from a local farmer. At first, all she found were long-legged athletic-looking numbers; not a succulent breast among them.

Finally she got what she wanted, paid the farmer, and made a date for collection of the bird… plucked, merci beaucoup.

Though the main course was to be all British, we chose to cast aside the plumb duff and brandy butter and go French for dessert. My friend baked a Galette des Rois—King’s Cake—and I made the classic French Christmas log, or Bûche de Noël.

The Origins Of Today’s Christmas Traditions

Buche de noël.
iStock/margouillatphotos

La bûchecomes from a Celtic-pagan celebration when people would search for a large chunk of tree at the Winter Solstice, which they would burn as a symbol of the re-birth of the sun.

The Catholic Church did not eradicate the custom in later years, and a log is still burned in many French homes—particularly in farming communities—from Christmas Eve until New Year in the hope that it will bring good crops and good fortune in the year to come.

Nowadays, the log is more commonly represented by the edible Bûche de Noël, which holds center place on French tables during Christmastime dinners. It’s made from a Genoese sponge, which is covered in chocolate buttercream and scratched with a fork to make it look like a log. The more adventurous cooks add little trees and Christmas figures.

La Galette des Rois is a more recent addition to French Christmases, dating back to the 14th century. It’s a flaky pastry circle that’s filled with almond cream. In times gone by, a dried bean (une fève) was placed inside the cake.

The person who got thefèvewas king for the day. Thefèvehas been replaced by all sorts of figurines from tiny kings to cartoon figures.

On Christmas Eve, our kids adopted a French custom and left their shoes by the fireplace for Père Noël to fill with gifts and sweets. But not wanting to totally forego our usual tradition of hanging stockings at the end of their beds, they were allowed to double up. Santa was extra busy that night in our home.

I found thefèvethat year; called Maggy, she’s a character from the kids’ movie “Mia et le Migou.” She’s an inch-tall, chicly dressed (of course) grandmother figure and has joined the eclectic collection of figurines in our nativity scene.

Inevitably the best one in our crèche from my children’s point of view is our littlecaganer, or pooping man, picked up from our years spent living near Barcelona.

Lucy Culpepper
Euro Correspondent

Tags: 'Christmas''France'Barcelonaexpatsholidayslive overseasmove overseasSpain'
Share100Tweet59
Lucy Culpepper

Lucy Culpepper

Lucy Culpepper is a Euro Correspondent for Live and Invest Overseas. She has traveled to, written about, and worked in some 30 countries. Originally from Wales in the United Kingdom, she has lived all over the UK, in southern California, Spain, and France and has spent extended time in Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica.

Related Posts

View of the seaside town of Dunmore East, County Waterford, Ireland.
Lifestyle

How We Made Friends While Living Abroad

by Kathleen Peddicord
March 12, 2023
0

Twenty-five years ago, Lief and I moved to Ireland. Me from Baltimore, him from Chicago. We brought my daughter and...

Read more
Two medieval towers at La Rochelle harbor in France

La Rochelle: A Quaint Life In A Modern City

March 8, 2023
Tavira in Portugal

The 5 Best Places To Live Overseas In 2023

February 2, 2023
Cyprus: Better Than Your Neighbor’s Retirement To Florida

Life On Cyprus: The Secret Brits Don’t Want Americans To Know

January 26, 2023
A beach in Los Islotes, Panama

Los Islotes In Panama’s Pacific Coast—A Unique Community In One Of The Safest Havens

January 23, 2023
Ferragudo, Portugal

How One Couple Discovered A Great New Life In Algarve

January 20, 2023
A ship in The Algarve, Portugal

Starting A New Life In Portugal With A Family

January 19, 2023

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas ...

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.

LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2023

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2023 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2023 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Download your FREE report on

The Best Places To Retire In 2023

New Year, New You, New Life Overseas

Sign up for FREE and learn how to live the good life on a modest budget, find bargain property, and more. Plus, check out our free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE.

RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY