Christmas Traditions in Provence

Christmas Traditions in Provence

Bright garlands of light,  Christmas trees, Festive Shop windows, Expositions of Santons, Welcoming garlands and bows on houses, misty mornings .......... it's Christmas in Provence ....
Looking through my photographs, I couldn't help but put together this photoblog of some of my favorite scenes from the Christmases we  have spent at Maison des Pelerins our vacation home in Sablet. 

If you have ever thought about visiting Provence at Christmas,
I hope these pictures will give you a sense of the fun, festivity and tradition
 that accompanies the Christmas season in small villages and larger towns in Provence.
As an added bonus - at this time of the year, Provence has an atmosphere that is much more serene
than it seems to be during the summer "season".



It starts with a very, very early morning view out from the bedroom window of Maison des Pelerins.
A pre dawn, look at the frosty sleeping vineyards .......... I just love this view and take full advantage of every opportunity to enjoy an early morning cup of tea by this window

Looking at this picture - I can almost smell the bread baking at the Boulangerie in the square below

On with the day ....... An Exhibition of Santons in Seguret - our neighboring village .......

Master Santonniers from towns and villages throughout Provence come to this very well known
"Expositions des Santons" to display their creativity.
The Christmas Creche plays a very important role in Provencal Christmas decor

As legend has it, Christ was born in Provence, and Santonniers create scenes that show how the village would have looked at the time of his birth.  In addition to the usual figures of the creche, Provencal creches also include characters from the village as can be seen in the display above.  It shows the villagers carrying gifts, on their way to greet the new baby Jesus.








Time to do a little shopping ....... the Christmas windows look so inviting       


Coffee time at this beautifully decorated cafe in the Village of Seguret


A festive book store window in Carpentras

......... in the village of Seguret

Our Village - Sablet - the festive window of a boulangerie with a great display of Three King's Cakes
(Galette des Rois)

As the day goes on..... streetlights and decorations light up the evening......


Vaison-la-Romaine


Aix-en-Provence cheerful shop windows and street lights add to the festive ambiance 

Aix-en-Provence - a canopy of bright Christmas lights guides you all the way down the Cours Mirabeau which is lined on either side with Christmas Market stalls.


Vaison-la-Romaine - the Place du Montfort - dressed up in lights for the season



Dinner time after all that shopping .... The Chateau Martinet - a restaurant near Sablet -
decorated and ready  for Christmas and New Year guests


Joyeux Noel!   The dining room at Maison des Pelerins ready for Christmas dinner.

"May your days be merry and bright ........."

A Fish Tale from La Ciotat

Everyone knows Cassis - it is the beautiful little seaside village that (mostly) French people love to flock to in the warm months each summer.

Beach goers enjoy  a warm October morning in La Ciotat

We came to know and love Cassis as well as its larger and a little more "work a day" neighbor - La Ciotat when we spent two weeks at "Le Camping" in the  nearby village of  Ceyreste with our then two small boys, back in the summer of 1985.  Funny that we hadn't been back to La Ciotat (although we had visited Cassis a number of times since) until just a few weeks ago.

Does that sign say, "Swimming Prohibited"?

What really stands out in my memory about La Ciotat - apart from its beach being the first place where our little boys saw topless sunbathers - is our evening fishing trip taken on a local fishing boat, captained by an "local expert".

Colorful boats anchored in the harbor at La Ciotat

To make a long story short - La Ciotat, being on the Mediterranean Coast, it of course has a typically Mediterranean climate - which can also mean the coastal areas being blanketed by fog on summer afternoons and evenings!  Dense fog is not the ideal setting for a family fishing trip, but we'd booked the boat and by the time we reached the boat, the captain had all our items loaded onto it and assured us that he had the latest in electronic equipment so that we would be completely safe and would certainly have no problems at all in finding the best fishing spot!  Somewhat reluctantly we climbed aboard and set out chugging through the stone walls of the breakwater - as the bells from the old Church struck eight times ... bong... bong... bong... bong... bong... bong... bong... bong! 8pm!

Four hours later the same bells marked our return, as we thankfully chugged back into the harbor - this time there were twelve bongs! I say "thankfully" because we had spent the better part of those four hours bobbing around, somewhere in the totally fogged in Mediterranean with the Captain constantly sounding his horn, to make sure that other vessels knew we were out there, and not run into us!  Adding to the sense of drama, in between sounding the horn, he was checking radio signals with a directional finder - picking up radio traffic in a variety of languages - Spanish ... North African varieties ... Italian etc.. etc...

Looking across one of the piers towards the Port of La Ciotat

Did we catch fish? Oh yes! We did catch a fish! In all that time, our younger son, about 6 years old at the time, was constantly casting his line and reeling it back in - (to keep from become completely bored I think).  We told him time and time again, not to do that, because he should give the fish a chance to bite - but he didn't stop.  It was probably just as well, because the only catch for the night was some poor, unsuspecting fish that got hooked in the gills as it was swimming past and was reeled in!

Right around 1:00am, we arrived back at Le Camping, to find the gate locked for the night, so we parked the car and walked back to our rented Camper Trailer with our fish.  We were all so tired, that we left the fish in its bucket on the table in the campsite and called it a night.

Around 9am, the boys woke up and ran out to check their fish.  We heard them chuckling away and went to see what was happening - they told us that we'd caught a "cartoon fish".  What's a "cartoon fish"? Why .. it's a fish skeleton - just like in the cartoons after the cats had feasted while we were asleep - and I can confidently say that, that night, the cat(s) in Ceyreste had the most expensive cat food in all of France!

A "Cartoon Fish"

Like all of the small towns and villages along that part of the Mediterranean Coast, La Ciotat has grown with more shops, cafes and  restaurants along shoreline as well as lots of rides and activities for children.

Actors playing the part of 1720's seafarers at the Festival

This year we arrived at the Port on a Sunday morning to find ourselves at a "Spectacle 1720" Festival where the Sunday Market usually is.  The market was being held further along the beach front and we enjoyed a stroll through the Festival and then a good walk  along  the beachfront to the market.  The port was still busy and clock still chimed every hour on the hour.

A colorful carousel with a nautical theme attracts children to the beach area

Market along the beach at a La Ciotat

Touring the beautiful Calanques is a very popular and relaxing

The Musee Ciotaden is just a cross the road from the Port

View from the Restaurant we went to for lunch - the weather was just turning and before long we had heavy drizzling

Going back to La Ciotat was like visiting an old friend - although the town had changed in all those years, it was still basically the same. The sight of kids playing on the beach took me back to those hot August days when we loaded up the car early each day and headed from Ceyreste to the beach, with the kids (and every other person in France) along the crowded beach road until we found the best spot for the day's play.