Christmas tradition in France - Foie gras or Smoked salmon ?

This week we ask Fabrice from the French team to tell us about the Christmas traditions in France. Do I smell hot chocolate ?

Christmas Market in Strasbourg. "Christkindeksmarik" means "market of Jesus Child" in local dialect.

Though Christmas is still associated with religion, France has long been a laic country and most people see it as a commercial or familial celebration. For our concern, it is above all, a great opportunity to taste a great variety (and quantity!) of gourmet food, some of them being only available at this time of the year.

Foie gras on bread with red candied fig

Before Christmas, the Advent is a time to offer le calendrier de l'Avent (Advent Calendar): every day is the occasion to open a window containing chocolate, sweets, an image or words from the Gospels.

French Advent Calendar

In Strasbourg, near Germany, you can visit Le marché de Noël (Christmas Market) to find christmas decorations, presents, eat some pain d'épices (gingerbread) while drinking vin chaud (mulled wine) or hot chocolate. This tradition has now spread throughout France but may differ greatly from one place to another.

> Wikipedia entry for Christmas Market in English, French, German, Polish
> Slideshow about Strasbourg Christmas Market

Christmas Eve is the occasion for a family dinner that lasts until the midnight mass. Sometimes children are allowed to wake and open their presents after midnight, but most of the time, they would go to bed and have to wait untill the next morning to discover what Le Père Noël (father Christmas, Santa Claus) brought them.

Smoked Salmon on bread. Please pass me the lemon slices !

Wether celebrated on Christmas eve or on the 25th, people will usually eat a 3 course meal starting with either foie gras, smoked salmon, oysters or other seafood.

> Read an article on entries for Christmas menu on marmiton.org in French - with super yummy pictures !


The main course usually is a turkey or capon stuffed with sausage meat and served chestnuts.

> See the recipe in French on marmiton.org.

Stuffed turkey with chestnuts

The traditional desert in France and in most french speaking countries is la bûche de Noël (Yule log): it can be frozen or not and is usually chocolate or praline flavoured though there now exists an infinite variety. You can buy them in supermarkets or at your local bakery.

> See a recipe and picture in French or read the wikipedia entry in English, French, German, Polish

In Provence, south-west France, still survives the tradition of the 13 desserts (Les treize desserts). Clearly influenced by the mediterranean tradition, it consists of a large variety (and quantity !) of deserts: mostly seasonal fruits (oranges, grapes, mandarins), dried fruits (raisins, figs, dates), candied fruits, nougat (De, En, Fr, Pl) marzipan and pastries made of honey and nuts.

> More about this tradition on Wikipedia in French, English

La buche de Noël au chocolat ! (Chocolate yule log) The only decent way to end a Christmas menu !

It is impossible not to mention the tradition associated with the Epiphany: on the 6th of January, to celebrate the arrival of the Three Magi in Bethlehem where Jesus was born, people would eat a cake which can be either made of brioche (Gâteau des Rois) or puff pastry filled with almond cream (Galette des Rois à la frangipane). In any case, the cake hides a trinket: the person who gets it will be crowned king for a day and gets to choose a Queen... as well as pay for the next cake ! (Read the wikipedia entry for the cake in French, English, Polish or German)

Who will be king ? This galette des rois à la frangipane hides a trinket/ticket for the crown

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Calendrier de l'Avent par Happy cooking
Foie Gras picture by cyclonebill (Brød med foie gras og rødvinssyltet figen) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
Smoked salmon picture by cyclonebill (Laksemadder) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons