Just like turkey is to Thanksgiving, a French Christmas main dish is almost always a large roasted “dinde” (turkey). A French Christmas turkey is traditionally made with a chestnut stuffing, and served with roasted potatoes, chestnuts and sometimes cooked apples around it.
Homard (lobster) and caviar are also quite popular as appetizers or worked into the main meal. For poultry you've got to have La Dinde de Noel, or the Christmas turkey, which has been a tradition in France since the 19th century. But there's also typically un chapon (capon), instead of the everyday chicken hen.
Many people in France put up a Christmas tree, visit a special church service, eat an elaborate meal and open gifts on Christmas Eve. Other activities include walking in the park, participating in city life and sharing a meal with family and close friends.
Santa Claus is called Père Noël in French or Father Christmas. Small children may also call him Papa Noël or Daddy Christmas.
The thirteen desserts are in reference to Jesus and his twelve apostles at the Last Supper. As tradition goes, there must be at least thirteen sweets available. They are all served at once, and each guest must have at least a small bite of each dessert.
Bûche de Noël is a traditional French Christmas dessert shaped and decorated like a log. This recipe takes some time, but we promise it's worth it.
Here, we've gathered a sampling of our traditional French favorites: the wine-braised chicken stew coq au vin, the Provençal fish stew bouillabaisse, a vegetable-based take on French onion soup, and more. Pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy cooking your way through these classics.
In France, it is the tradition to eat a special dinner late at night on Christmas Eve. This meal is called le réveillon de Noël. However, in the region of Provence, it is referred to as le gros souper - the big supper. It is eaten before going to midnight mass - la messe de minuit.
Christmas dinner traditions vary throughout the different regions of Italy, but are guaranteed to involve a feast, including fish and seafood dishes on Christmas Eve and an abundance of rich and comforting pasta and roast meat dishes on the big day.
Traditional Christmas dinner features turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables. Other types of poultry, roast beef, or ham, are also used. Pumpkin or apple pie, raisin pudding, Christmas pudding, or fruitcake are staples for dessert.
Shoes by the fireplace
Progressively, this tradition has evolved to place the shoes under the Christmas tree, which is where Le père Noël leaves the gifts. Hands-down the best part of Christmas for kids, this tradition lives on! Unlike most places that place stockings on the mantel, the French leave gifts in shoes.
The "big supper" (le gros souper) ends with a ritual 13 desserts, representing Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles. The desserts always number thirteen but the exact items vary by local or familial tradition. The food traditionally is set out Christmas Eve and remains on the table three days until December 27.
France is known for macarons, mille feuille, eclairs, cannele, Paris-Brest, profiteroles, opera cake, financiers, floating island, and more.
In French Happy/Merry Christmas is 'Joyeux Noël'. In Breton (spoken by some people in Brittany, Northern France) it's 'Nedeleg Laouen', in Corsican it's 'Bon Natale' and in Alsatian (spoken by some people in Alsace, in Eastern France) it's 'E güeti Wïnâchte'.
You might know it as a Yule log, but to the French, it's a Bûche de Noël. Made with a flourless chocolate cake, this traditional festive dessert is rolled with fluffy cream, to create a beautiful spiralled effect. It's then usually topped with a dusting of icing sugar and decorated with other sweet treats.
Do you know the story of the French foil-wrapped Christmas chocolate called Les Papillotes de Noël ? These delicious treats got their names from Mr. Papillot. It all started in 1790 in Lyon , France with the chocolate maker Monsieur Papillot, his niece, and his apprentice.
The favourite British tradition of the Christmas stocking isn't really a thing in France, as it's replaced by children leaving out their shoes and boots for St Nicholas instead. Both traditions come from the same place, however.
French children leave their shoes out in front of the fireplace - la cheminée, or around the Christmas tree - le sapin de Noël. When they awake on Christmas Day, they hope to find that le Père Noël has visited and that the shoes (les souliers) are filled and surrounded by gifts - des cadeaux.
Christmas Tree · Le Sapin De Noël
Indeed, most French households have their French Christmas tree set up by about the 15th of December (and even the 1st) and street decorations are usually up from the first Sunday of Advent.
Santa Claus goes by lots of names, depending on where you are in the world. In Australia and other English-speaking countries, he's usually called Father Christmas, Santa Claus, or sometimes just “Santa” for short.
The Santa Claus emoji 🎅 portrays the face of Santa Claus, the legendary Christmas figure.