Les Étrennes – A French Tradition

If you are Anglophone and live in France, you may have heard this word and not understood its significance. Even nowadays, les étrennes are still part of French traditions, so what are they?

 

 

Les étrennes refer to any gift given at the beginning of the New Year in early January. This tradition goes back to Roman times and is still in use today in French families where small gifts are exchange on the 1^st of January. Shopkeepers also may give calendars, diaries, pens etc. but the étrennes are mostly given (in the form of money) to firefighters, postmen and women and concierges to thank them for their help and efforts during the previous year.

 

So now, you know...

France mortgage rates hit historical all-time low

04TuesdayDec 2012

Posted by Sylvia Davis, Property & Living Editor in FRANCE

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LeFigaro Immobiler announced today that French mortgage rates have never been so low. At an average of 3,3% for a 15-year loan they are below the lowest rate recorded in October 2010. Continue reading »

La Félibrée in Bergerac - 5th, 6th and 7th of July 2013

I am quite excited, the Félibrée is coming to Bergerac next year!

The Félibrée (Felibrejada in occitan) is an Occitan folk festival organized annually in a town or village of the Périgord, inspired by Frédéric Mistral and the Félibrige. The first was held in 1903 in Mareuil sur Belle. 

This festival takes place every year on the first Sunday of July in a different city of the Périgord. This celebration, which revives the troubadours who once sang the language of Oc in all the courts of Europe, is the day of the language of Oc. It is an annual extravaganza with several tens of thousands of people from all walks of life coming together to appreciate and safeguarde the Occitan heritage and language . There are shows, parades of traditional groups with authentic costumes and music instruments and crafts demonstrations. The town is decorated with spectacular decorations made of paper flowers.

The 94th Félibrée will take place in Bergerac on the 5th, 6th and 7th of July. The last time the Félibrée took place in Bergerac was in 1993.

To commemorate the event each year, a soup plate called a plate "à chabrol" is designed and each Félibrée has its own. To make chabrol is an ancient Occitan custom where when there is a little soup left at the bottom of the plate a small amount of red wine is added to dilute the broth. The dish is  then brought to the mouth and the content swallowed in large gulps. The plate designed for the 1993 Bergerac Félibrée is shown below.

This type of event is why I love living in Dordogne and more particularly in Bergerac. If you too would love to live where culture and architecture meets gastronomy then my area is for you. Thinking of moving here or buying a holiday home, see here how I can help you do it the easy way.