I have been celebrating Christmas here in Provence for over 15 years. But still, each year I discover a new tradition, a different custom here to mark Noel (Christmas in French).
Elbows off the table
In the beginning, my first visit, I didn’t really know what to expect. Over the years, I was invited to xmas meals full of pretty dishes, silver cutlery, and lots and lots of food. In my husband’s family, the meal itself hasn’t changed in 15 years and probably for 60 years before that. It consists in this exact order:
- Champagne to open the meal
- Fois gras with one or two leaves of lettuce and toasts
- Big big turkey stuffed with some minced meat thing
- Roasted chestnuts as a side dish
- Green leaf salad with special honey/olive oil/garlic and walnuts sauce
- A platter of cheeses
- The 13 deserts of Xmas to which I added my famous cheese cake, which has since become a family tradition – the 14thdesert of xmas.
Ready to go fois gras! 
Dried fruits, one of the desserts 
Mountains of chocolates 
North African influence on Provence
Family members as usual gifted each other. Then, as we started having kids it became too much so we just gifted the children. Then that became too much, and we tried to make communal gifts. I said tried, but it proved logistically too complicated.
In the beginning everyone was shy, correct and polite around me. And as time went by, and people got older, nobody held back. People would launch openly at the table into their treatise on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Grandparents would wrinkle their noses.
The Christmas Meal: A sitcom episode 🙂
As the years went by, every xmas I met the same people with an ‘update’: new job, new boyfriend, a pregnancy, a house, another pregnancy. Eventually these updates became what I call an un-update: ‘a job quit’, ‘a divorce/separation’, moving/house selling, a vipasana retreat, some extreme Arctic trip, or a weird project. The rise and fall, or the fall and rise of the modern adult life cycle. At least we did them all together. Again, grandmothers rolling eyes at the table…
At a certain point we mostly stopped gifting each other, everyone understanding the futility of it all. Not to mention some have turned minimalists, rejecting all possessions in an effort to save the Earth. Grandmothers also stopped cooking to the growing tribe, also understanding the futility of it all, and just ordered catering. Everybody paid their 50 euro contribution and that was the end of that.
But outside the house, a public affair.
The public affair consisted of visiting some Xmas markets which depending on the year and the mood included a visit to downtown Toulon or Aix-en-Provence or La Garde. It became a heated topic of conversation to find the BEST Christmas market. This is more or less silly, as in all of these markets we find similar booths, selling mostly the same things. There is the obligatory bar stalls for servicing beers or hot wine. I frequented the latter.
Food booths making crepes, waffles, roasted chestnuts. Stalls selling typical Provencal goodies ranging from soaps to clothes to jewelry. There is always some xmas display catering to children. Some markets have arts and crafts workshops for children or even a Ferris wheel. And of course the required Christmas crib and the santons.
Toulon: hot wine and lots of chocolates
Still, in Toulon I found this year the incredible chocolate booth, a feast for the eyes, it’s hard to choose. Forget about what you know or think you know about chocolate creations. And forget about your resolution to lose weight this year FOR SURE.
The legendary chocolate booth. 
Christmas market in Toulon.
Carrying on, I stumble upon the best hot wine booth, featuring Christophe from Mosbach Winery in Alsace. He is the 14thgeneration of wine makers and his family’s domain is from the 16th century. They haven’t changed jobs in what, 500 years ?! This cute guy proceeded to reveal his recipe for hot wine, which you can make at home.
Sanary-sur-mer: Glittering in all her glory
The beautiful old port did not disappoint. From the parking I was seduced by dozens and dozens of traditional pointus Provencal fishing boats decorated with lights. Their masts and sails wearing diamond chains as they shimmer before my eyes.
On the pier, the beautiful city hall building is intensely decorated with Christmas lights and a forest of Xmas trees stands before it. Saint-Nazaire church with its famous cross is dressed in lights for the ocassion, as is the famous Tower of Sanary from 1300. All along the pier, statutes, buildings, street lights, are dressed in lights. I am almost blinded.
I’d hate to see the electricity bill here in Janaury, but Sanary doesn’t care, she is a beautiful bride and wants to show off. At the edge of the pier another Christmas tree forest, with displays for children and many photo-ops which we cannot resist.
The Santons of Provence in Ollioules
Santons means “little saints” in old Provençal. They are actually handmade nativity scene figurines made in the Provence region of France. There are 55 figurines representing different characters from the nativity scene and from Provençal village life such as: the grinder, the priest, the gypsy girl, the water carrier, the fish woman, the blind man and the chestnut seller.
The first clay Santons were created by the Marseille craftsman Lanil (1761-1822) during the French Revolution when churches were forcibly closed and their large nativity scenes were banned.
The creation of Santons today is a family business, passed down from parents to children. Santons are designed in two halves, pressed together and fused. After that they are painted and then hair, clothing, hats, baskets and other accessories are glued to them. There are two types of santons: clay santons, and clothed doll-like santons.
The large Christmas crib of Ollioules 
The Santons market in Ollioules 
The olive harvest scene 
Santons for sale! 
Up close, incredible work
My Birthday
So once again, my birthday came around. Without fail, you can’t stop this event from taking place every year on the 14th of December. I reflect again on the year that was, what was gained, lost, and what’s my age again? This year, the village of Ollioules decided to throw it’s xmas fair on my birthday. As I live smack in the old historic center, there is no way to avoid it. So on I went with my kids.
The Anti-Christmas Market
Fifteen years of anything you’d become cynical. But I must say I was treated to quite an experience. The anti-Christmas Provencal Market. Being a small and independent town, Ollioules does what it wants, and answers to no one. Around the Christmas season the village center explodes with beautiful decorations and lights hanging or displayed everywhere. I can even say she is the most beautiful around this time.
In Ollioules you find a modest but cute market. There is a stand making cookies for the children, and of course the traditional choir singing carols in Provencal traditional robes. This is a family event where you meet all the different Ollioules players: the mayor, the treasurer, the Nougat maker, the violinist, pottery maker, etc.
City Hall in Ollioules 
The roasted chicken that I bought in the market, and other goodies, weigh heavily in my back pack. As are my hands are full of bags. The mistral wind does not allow to eat a crepe in peace so we went home. The sounds of Christmas echo into the house from the nearby concert stage as we devour greasy chicken and cookies made by children.
