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What are the traditional festivals in France?

New Year’s Day (January 1)

New Year’s Day in France was originally April 1, until 1564, when King Charles IX changed it to January 1.

During the New Year, relatives and friends will gather to give gifts or money. Interestingly, before the arrival of the new year in France, each family must drink all the remaining wine in the house, so that many people get drunk. They believe that if there is wine left in the house at New Year’s, the new year is bound to be bad luck.

Epiphany (January 6)

The 12th day after Christmas is Epiphany, and these 12 days represent the time difference between the lunar calendar and the solar calendar.

In France, Epiphany is also known as the “Three Kings Festival” to commemorate the three kings of the East. The word Epiphany comes from the Greek epiphaneia, which means “appearance, advent”. Epiphany is a Christian holiday, but it has different meanings for Christians in the East and the West: Christians in the West believe that it commemorates the love of the Three Kings for Jesus, while Christians in the East (Orthodox Church) believe that this is the baptism of Jesus day.

According to tradition, on the day of the Epiphany, people have to eat a kind of pancake, which is filled with broad beans. In France, there are two kinds of king crepes. In northern France, people eat a round, multi-layered crepes, which are flat, golden brown and coated with almond butter.

In the north, pancakes symbolize the end of winter and the return of the sun to the earth. And in the south of France, the southwest, the Provence region, crepes are more like a cake. The cake is shaped into a crown and filled with preserved fruit.

Easter (the first Sunday after the vernal equinox)
Easter, also known as “Lord Easter” or “Jesus Easter Feast”, is a traditional religious festival set up by French folk to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus.

People give each other Easter eggs as gifts, and adults and children gather together in groups of three or five to play games with Easter eggs. In the windows of various chocolate shops in Paris, the elaborately crafted eggs also serve as a unique piece of art for people to watch.

Another symbol of Easter is the bunny, which is regarded as the creator of new life. During the festival, adults will vividly tell children that Easter eggs will hatch into bunnies.

On this day, believers also go to church to worship and receive “Sacrament”. “Sacrament” is a small loaf of bread dipped in a few drops of red wine, which symbolizes the body and blood of Jesus. People use this religious activity to express their remembrance of Jesus and their perseverance in faith.

Ascension Day (forty days after Easter)

It is a traditional religious holiday and one of the legal holidays in France. It is scheduled every year on the fifth Thursday after Easter, which is forty days after Easter.

“Ascension Holiday” is one of the most important holidays in spring. Ascension heralds the holidays and the coming of summer, when the Holy Spirit in France celebrates the arrival of spring.

Pentecost/Pentecost (50 days after Easter)

Pentecost (lundi de Pentecôte) is held to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection and sending the Holy Spirit. During the Pentecost celebrations, the Catholic mass sacrifices are red. According to Pope Innocent’s interpretation, the red color recalls the image of the tongue of fire full of magical power when the Holy Spirit came.

Although this day is a holiday, the French government still requires everyone to work one day in vain every year, and use the income of this day to help the lonely elderly.

International Labor Day/Lily of the Valley (May 1)

The trade unions held a large-scale parade that day. In France, there is another traditional festival on this day: Lily of the Valley. The lovely white lily of the valley is regarded as a lucky flower that brings happiness in France, and giving lily of the valley to relatives and friends on May 1st is to wish them good health and happiness in this year.

National Day (July 14)

On this day in 1789, the people of Paris captured the Bastille, a symbol of feudal rule, and overthrew the monarchy. In 1880, July 14 was officially established as the national day of France. The French commemorate this day of freedom and revolution every year.

A large-scale military parade was held on the Champs-Élysées. Every household hung colorful flags. The carnival crowd wore red, white and blue ribbons around their necks. They danced cheerful Camarillo dances and other folk dances to the music. dance. The night of this day becomes a sea of ​​joy, and the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of France, is set against the backdrop of fire trees and silver flowers.

Assumption: August 15 (Catholic), August 27 (Orthodox)

Every August 15th is the Catholic Assumption Day, which is one of the four major Catholic holidays (the other three are Christmas, Ascension Day and All Saints Day). It was established to commemorate the Virgin Mary and God’s end to earthly life.

The Assumption of the Virgin Mary is celebrated with various religious ceremonies and usually lasts from August 14th to August 15th. Notre Dame de Paris, one of the largest Notre Dame cathedrals in France, holds a grand celebration every year.

All Saints’ Feast (November 1)

Every year on November 1, the Catholic Church commemorates all saints, whether they are known or not. This is to let people know that the holiness is not just for the elite, everyone can be a sage. The next day people will bring a bunch of chrysanthemums to pay homage to their deceased relatives.

In Catholic architecture, the two days are distinguished by different decorative colors. November 1st is white, and November 2nd is purple.

Armistice Day (November 11)

Some units have a day off, and the president or prime minister will award medals to the heroes of the military and the heroes who survived the two world wars.

Christmas (December 25)

On Christmas Eve, people often go to church for mass. After Mass, the French have a family meal called “réveillon”. On Christmas morning, everyone will open their presents and the children will find sweets and fruit under the tree.