French holidays

Old Oct 24th, 2000, 06:31 PM
  #1  
Rich Wehnes
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
French holidays

My daughter has to write a report on two french holidays. She needs to know what the holiday is, where it is celebrated, how it is celebrated, and how it got started. We can find all sorts of information on Bastille Day, but after that, not much luck. Anybody got any information or hints/websites to look into?
 
Old Oct 24th, 2000, 08:19 PM
  #2  
adrienne
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Hi Rich,

How about Armistice Day – 1918 (November) or VE Day (May). The French also celebrate Labor Day – May 1 (as does much of Europe) as well as many Catholic Holy Days.

 
Old Oct 25th, 2000, 12:02 AM
  #3  
Jan
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Another holiday in France is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary this celebrated on August 15th.
 
Old Oct 25th, 2000, 08:53 AM
  #4  
Sandi
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Just bringing to the top.... I know there are some more folks out there that can help with this.


 
Old Oct 25th, 2000, 11:24 AM
  #5  
Christina
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
That report is a little vague as it's not clear if it is simply national holidays or any type of holiday. For the former, there is an official list on www.francetourism.com, as well as on the French Embassy web site (www.info-france-usa.org). Aside from New Years, Labor Day, the two WW victory days, and Bastille Day, all the rest are religious (some only Catholic). However, there are many other holidays, some local or regional, and more interesting than these national ones like Labor Day (in fact, where and how and who celebrates doesn't make as much sense for national holidays as they are by definition national). For example, Mardi Gras in Feb is a real big deal in Nice. There are many local saints or harvest etc festivals with celebrations. The Rice Festival in Arles is very festive and including the running of the bulls in the street (in Sept), there are harvest festivals in the wine regions, and truffle and chestnut and lavendar festivals in Provence. In the Camargue region, the village Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is known for its local pilgrimages and saints day festivals. There is also the feast of Saint-Sylvester (NY Eve) which is not a national holiday but has a special celebration. Here are some places to look for calendars of local holiday festivals: www.provence-beyond.com (go to calendar), www.coteazur.com/calendar.html or www.coteazur.com/carnival.html for the Nice Mardi Gras, www.arles.cci.fr/tou/cam/caarfe0.htm for Arles fetes. Finally, the French Culture Minister has a wonderful web site with a very complete description for children of French Christmas customs, go to (www.culture.fr/culture/noel/noel.htm, there is also an English mirror button on that site if she does not read French). There is a wonderful description of the local festivities in the Camargue on www.saintesmariesdelamer.com (go to culture or manifestations). If she or you read French, there is a great French kids web site that might be about the right level (www.momes.net). It has a very good description of the Mardi Gras in Nice festivities in their online kids' dictionary (go to "c", then the special "dossier" on carnaval). If you go with the regular national holidays, as they are not just French except for Bastille Day, you'll find lots of info online if you know how to use a search engine well.
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -