Celebrating the New Year is a little different in France than in the US.
Les Cartes (Cards) – French people don’t send Christmas
cards; they send New Year’s greetings cards instead. So if you are sending
cards to folks in France, you don’t have to rush. People in France continue to
wish each other la bonne année throughout the minth of January! No
interaction is complete in France in the month of January without prefacing it
with Meilleurs Voeux (Best Wishes).
Les Étrennes – It is a common practice in France to
give gifts of money to children and people who serve you on a regular basis:
the mail carrier, the concierge of
your apartment building, your local fireman, the cleaning lady (la famme de ménage), even the
garbage man (les éboueurs). These sums of money are called les étrennes.
Le Réveillon – Christmas Eve dinner is known as le réveillon…and so is New Year’s Eve
dinner! To distinguish the two, the celebration on the 31st is
called la Saint-Sylvestre, or le réveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre, simply
because the last day of the year happens to be that saint’s feast day. The
festive meal is similar to the one shared on Christmas – goose or turkey,
oysters, foie gras – with the
addition of champagne, bien sûr,
dancing and partying long into the night. Metros and public transportation in
the large cities are free for the evening to discourage people from driving.
Le Minuit (Midnight) – At the
stoke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, expect to receive kisses and hearty Bonne Année! or Bonne Année et Bonne Santé! (literally: Happy New Year and Good Health).
As you can see French don’t say “Happy New Year” but rather “Happy Year.”
Le Jour de ‘An (New Year's Day) – On New Year’s Day parades fill the
streets and friends and family share their New Year’s Resolutions (une bonne résolution
de nouvel an). They may also exchange cards and gifts.
French January Traditions
French
New Year Vocabulary
Bonne Année !
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Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year and Good
Health!
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une bonne résolution
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New Year's resolution
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les étrennes
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New Year's gifts
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le Jour de l'An
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New Year's Day
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la Saint-Sylvestre
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New Year's Eve
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