la Chandeleur
In England, Pancake Day içs Shrove Tuesday. (also known as Mardi Gras - Fat Tuesday)
Here in France, tho, the 2nd of February is the big crepes day.
The feast is called la Chandeleur, from the word for Candle, symbolising light. It is nominally 40 days after Christmas and commemorates the presentation of Jesus at the temple.
Historically, it is a melding of Roman fertility and Celtic purification ceremonies before the onset of Spring.
In the church there is a procession of candles and a benediction, but the most common method of celebrating, and the method that seems to be the most enduring, is the cooking and eating of crêpes, their golden round shapes symbolising the sun that is starting to return after Winter.
If you make crêpes yourself on Chqndeleur, make sure you hold a coin in your free hand to invoke properity for the rest of the year
See http://www.chandeleur.net/
posted by Stew @ 6:48 pm
2 people could be arsed to comment
2 Comments:
Thanks for that Stew, it's really good to learn about the customs here.
On a quick read, only 2 mis hit keys, you're doing really well. Typing e-mail addresses is a bit tough though( the @), Alt Gr is not an obvious key to use is it.
What it's February already?
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