Language

French is the official language of France. However, there are several language
variants that are spoken in different regions of the country.

Location
France´s territory is located in what is known as Western Europe. Here, it borders
to the southwest with; Andorra, Spain and the Cantabrian Sea. To the south with;
the Mediterranean Sea, Monaco and Italy, while to the west it borders with the
Atlantic Ocean.

Main Cities
• Paris: The capital of France and the largest city in the country.
• Marseille: The oldest city in France, home to many famous artists.
• Lyon: It is the international headquarters of Interpol, and very famous for its chefs
and cuisine.
• Toulouse: It is the business center for information and biotechnology companies.
• Nice: Known as an attractive tourist town
• Nantes: It has one of the most important art collections in France.
• Strasbourg: The city gardens are known for their mixture of French and German
landscape architecture.

Flag
It dates from the French Revolution, and consists of three vertical stripes of the
same size of blue and red at the ends (the colors of the Paris shield and flag), and
white in the central strip, the color of the monarchy.
Traditions

 On December 24th at night, children leave their shoes in front of the

fireplace for Santa Claus to fill them with gifts.
 The gifts are open on the 25th morning. The whole family then have lunch
that generally extends to the night. The Bresse capon with chestnut puree is
a very traditional dish.
 There is a very loving law in the country, issued in 1962, which indicates
that all letters written to Santa Claus by children have to be answered with a
postcard, which they receive individually,
 Another important Christmas tradition in France for many families is the
Christmas Eve Mass called Messe de Minuit, which is followed by a great
feast called Le Réveillon, symbolising the symbolic awakening of Jesus at
birth.
 Families celebrate in their homes or in restaurants with great meals, some
of the traditional ones being dishes with chicken, goose, turkey stuffed with
nuts, oysters and boudin blanc.

There are many traditional French Christmas desserts such as:

 La bûche de Noël (the Yule trunk): this is a pioneering shape cake or trunk
made of chocolate and nuts, representing the trunk burned from Christmas
Eve to New Year as a promise of the new beginning.
 Le pain calendar (in the south of France) or Christmas Pudding: traditionally
shared with those most in need.
 La Galette des Rois (Rosca de Reyes): Served on Three Kings Day, it is a
round cake that is cut into pieces and served by a child hidden under the
table, known as le petit roi or l’enfant soleil. Anyone who finds the surprise
hidden in one of the portions becomes king of the celebration.
The main Christmas decoration in French houses, as well as in streets, shops and
offices is the sapin de Noël, the traditional tree dating back to the 14th century and
decorated with apples, paper flowers and ribbons.
To put an end to this review of how Christmas is celebrated in France, we want to
share with you all the following video. This is a show held in the capital of the
country. It consists of images projected on the façade of the buildings. A very
colorful show that anyone who travels to this city at Christmas should visit.