"You know, it seems to me that there is so much more to the world than the average eye is allowed to see. I believe if you look hard, there are more wonders than you could have dreamed of"
- Doctor Who
If there is one thing you can count on here in France, its the love of Christmas. Being a Catholic country not only means that Christmas is quite a big deal, but it also means that what ever town you visit, no matter the size, is celebrating the Christmas season.
Now, unlike the United States were Christmas decorations have been out since Halloween and come the day after Thanksgiving, all that plays on KOOL108 is Christmas tunes, France has had their Christmas markets and decorations all planned out and set up by the time us Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. This means that the streets are filled with twinkling lights, Christmas trees covered in ornaments are found at every corner and in every roundabout, and Christmas music has been blaring out of city speakers all day long.
With all this, it also means that the Christmas markets are in full swing: the hand-crafted ornaments, the regional products such as various cheeses and sausages, the crèpe stands serving warm freshly made crèpes filled with warm gooey Nutella, and the best feature of them all: le vin chaud, le glüwein, the mulled wine. The nectar of the gods that promises to warm you from the insides out, that cinnamon-y, orange-y red wine, the only time when it is appropriate and not frowned upon to drink mug after mug in the early mornings.
Yet the massive difference that exists amongst les marchés de Noël is the fact that the small towns in the country side clearly have small marchés, as is to be expected, but what isn't expected is that when you ask for a recommendation on what marchés to visit, you are told time and time again to go to Strasbourg, not Paris not Caen not Rouen, Strasbourg, always Strasbourg.
I've done the Strasbourg marché du Noël and I can totally understand why and how it is considered la capitale du Noël here in France. But, clearly there are other ones that are possibly just as cool as Strasbourg or might be smaller but worth the visit to see the city.
So, even though I am not going to make it to Strasbourg this year for their Christmas market (hopefully next year), that doesn't mean that I won't make it to as many Christmas markets as I can. So far Lisieux's was cute in a very quaint way, Rouen's was neat in that it was at the foot of the fancy cathedral and much bigger than Lisieux's. Still yet to come is the various ones down in Paris, where I need to do a ton of shopping. And then, once I am back in Minnesota, that doesn't mean that the Christmas market fun has to stop because this year, Minnesota is having its very first marché de Noël in place of the Holidazzle Parade. Yes, it isn't that big, has an entrance fee and expensive food BUT it is a start to what will hopefully be a tradition that can slowly turn into resembling the marchés found in Europe.
So though there exists differences in the timing of the start of Christmas celebrations, it seems that Christmas is still quite important no matter where one is. As always, it is who you celebrate Christmas with than where.
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| Lisieux |
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| Rouen |
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| Paris - Champs-Élysées |
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| Paris |
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| Galleries Lafayette |
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