Père Fouettard, Santa’s dark shadow
The chilling legend of Père Fouettard, the shadowy Christmas figure who joins Santa each winter to confront children with the consequences of their mischief
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Yule Log – Bûche de Noël recipe
An easy and quick recipe for a traditional French Christmas Bûche de Noël or Yule Log based on a chocolate filled Swiss-roll
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Christmas cookies – quick and easy recipe
French Christmas cookies are baked from basic ingredients but get their unique flavour from a variety of spices including cinnamon, clove, aniseed, ginger
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Mistletoe – Christmas Plants – Symbolism
The evergreen mistletoe was widely associated with the pagan celebrations of the Winter and Summer solstices and adopted by the Christians for its symbolism
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Ivy – Christmas Plants – Symbolism – Origin
Ivy, traditionally used for the Pagan Winter celebrations and generated countless myths and was adopted for the Christmas celebrations for its symbolism
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Holly – Christmas Plants – Symbolism – Origin
The evergreen holly was traditionally used for the pagan celebrations of the Winter solstice and was adopted for its symbolism by the first Christians
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Poinsettia – Christmas Plants – Symbolism
The poinsettia is one of the plants traditionally used as Christmas decoration because of the crimson colour of its leaves which symbolizes Jesus’ Blood
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St Nicholas – Santa Claus – Pere Noel
The myth of Santa Claus-Père Noël is rooted in the story of St Nicholas of Smyrna, a saint renowned for his faith and charity and celebrated on 6 December
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Christmas Presents – Origins and Meaning
The tradition of giving Christmas presents is a symbolic reminder of the gifts the Three Wise Men gave to the Newborn Jesus
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Christmas Tree Decorations’ meaning
The tradition of the Christmas Tree originated from the Northern Europe myth of the Sacred Tree whose colour coded decorations have a specific symbolism
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Christmas Plants – Symbolism and Origins
Poinsettia, holly, Mistletoe and Ivy are the four traditional Christmas plants whose Pagan symbolism was adopted and transposed by the Christians
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Advent Christian Festival – Jesus’ Birth
Advent Festival starts the 4th Sunday before Christmas, it last four weeks and is celebrated with a wreath and candles which all carry specific symbolism
