Epiphany: the feast of the Three Wise Men

[jrineakter]

Third celebration we wanted to tell you about: the feast of the kings. It takes place on the first Sunday after New Year's Day. It is also called the Epiphany and it is also celebrated by everyone regardless of the religion of the families. It is a religious celebration at its core, but even those who are not Catholic celebrate the Epiphany or the feast of the kings. It actually represents the arrival of the Three Wise Men.

In France, we don't give each other gifts on Epiphany Day, unlike in other countries like Spain for example. On the other hand, what we do is we eat a cake, the galette des rois, which is a kind of brioche or frangipane. Inside the cake, there is a bean that is hidden and we cut the cake, the youngest child chooses, finally distributes the pieces and the one who has the bean becomes the king.

It's not really a holiday in its own right, but it's a tradition that is very much followed by the French. Tradition even says that the king or queen will have to bring the next cake. So, it's always an excuse in the end to extend the end-of-year celebrations, to continue eating.

Activities to do during the end-of-year holidays in France
The Strasbourg Christmas Market
If you are traveling to France at the end of the year, here are some tips or some festive activities that you can do. If you are in the North-East, I recommend the Strasbourg Christmas turkey whatsapp number data market, which apparently has existed since 1570. It is the oldest Christmas market in Europe. It is therefore called the capital of Christmas. Of course, there are plenty of other Christmas markets in most big cities, but this one is quite special. I think that the Alsatian Christmas markets are really great, so both in Strasbourg and in Colmar, which is also a really beautiful city.

Christmas lights
You can also discover the Christmas lights in Montbéliard, the lantern festival in Blagnac or the festival of lights in Lyon. This allows you to discover the light and magical shows with a slightly magical atmosphere.

Many people travel, long distances, to discover these beautiful things. For example, in the city of Metz, near which I lived for a long time, there were a whole bunch of activities with a lot of people who ultimately came for this very special period. In Metz, in particular, we had the lantern market which amazed the children.

Traditional santons in Aubagne
In Aubagne, you can discover the traditional santons. Santon means little saint. Santons are small clay or ceramic figurines that are placed in the nativity scene at Christmas. You can also visit the cathedrals. We have lots of fantastic cathedrals in France. Very often, they are a little decorated for the occasion.

The end of year celebrations: a series of traditions
So there you have it, we told you about a lot of things that were happening at the end of the year in France. That doesn't mean that you don't have the same things elsewhere. I know that the tradition is shared between many countries. Of course, we had to make some generalizations. As I said, not all French people celebrate the same thing, so we had to make some generalizations. It still gives you a good sense of French culture at this time of year.