Symbolism from Christ’s life can be found in countless Christmas traditions. According to Chantal Thompson, that’s especially true of traditions in France.
Christmas can be romanticized for numerous reasons, whether through the twinkle of dozens of lights framing houses or the cozy feeling of drinking hot chocolate while watching a classic Christmas movie. In France, celebrating the season involves puppets and log-shaped cakes. To kick-start the holiday season, emerita French professor Chantal Thompson spoke on the history and traditions surrounding embedded Christmas in France, specifically noting how they point back to Christ.
A Glimpse of Christmas Past
France has a rich history of celebrating Christmas. The earliest record of the holiday occurred on Christmas Day 496 AD and is known for the baptism of King Clovis I and his army of three thousand in the Cathedral of France. “It was also on Christmas Day that, in the year 800 AD, Charlemagne was crowned emperor,” Thompson continued, noting the legend that at the ceremony, the emperor also received la sainte chemise (the holy tunic), which Mary was said to have worn at Christ’s birth.
French theater, Thompson explained, also found its footing in large part because of Christmas, with Le Mystère de la Nativité (the Mystery of the Nativity) and Le Mystère de l’Incarnation et la Nativité (the Mystery of the Incarnation and Nativity) among the first formal plays performed in the country. “Those plays were a mixture of scriptural accounts, apocryphal accounts, and popular legend,” she said. The 16th century saw the continuation of these religious plays in the form of pastorales, which Thompson said “were plays about the nativity but from the less conventional perspective of shepherds.”
These plays turned into puppet shows by the 18th century and, from there, developed into a Christmas tradition popular in modern-day France: marionettes. “The word for puppet in French is marionette,” Thompson continued, “and it comes from Marie (Mary), a central figure in the nativity.” Today, these marionettes have become popularized in other francophone regions, such as Belgium.
Celebrating Christmas Present
Festive puppets have, over time, made way for another tradition popular in modern-day France: la crèche (the nativity scene). These nativities were initially life size and restricted to churches; however, Thompson shared that this exclusive sentiment changed as people began reimagining the nativity itself, inviting everyday people to be part of Christ’s birth story. “It’s not just Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus,” she said. “It’s the whole village that comes to the nativity scene. You have the butcher, the baker, the housewife, the schoolteacher––everybody is represented.”
Thompson also mentioned some of the dishes and feasts associated with Christmas in France, including a log-shaped cake known as la bûche de Noël and a seven-dish feast said to have been started by hungry churchgoers after three long masses. This meal, she noted, consists of numerous symbolic meals and decorations, including three distinct tablecloths representing Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit; lasagna with an emphasis on the ruffled edges resembling Christ’s torn garments; and 12 bread bowls representing the original apostles.
The Star of Christmas
Regardless of how or where the holiday is celebrated, Thompson remarked that faith stands at the heart of the Christmas season. She invited undergrad Larissa Olson (Vocal Performance ’25) to sing French poet Placide Cappeau’s world-renowned song “Minuit, Chrétiens,” known also by its English title “O Holy Night,” in remembrance of Christ’s birth.
“He is the reason we’re here today,” she said. “Jesus Christ: the center of our faith, the center of Christmas, the center of God’s eternal Plan of Salvation, the center of so many traditions in the Christian world at large, but especially in France.”
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