Ch 29 · Lesson 26French · Chapter 29 · Lesson 26 · Themed review
Les fêtes
The French year in festivals: a cake with a king inside, the Easter bells, the 14th of July, and the national days of Belgium, Switzerland and Québec.
Practise this lesson
19-word session
A quick mix of exercises - recognise, recall, type and build each word. Miss one and it comes back round until it sticks.
Worth knowing
A cake with a king inside, and bells that fly to Rome
You can wish someone , or . Here is what they are celebrating.
The French year
| When | | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| early January | Épiphanie | the galette : a cake with a small charm hidden inside; whoever finds it is king or queen for the day and wears a paper crown |
| 2 February | Chandeleur | ; tradition says you toss the first one holding a coin in your other hand, for luck |
| spring | chocolate; children are told the church | |
| 1 May | Labour Day; people give each other a sprig of lily of the valley | |
| 14 July | a military parade in Paris in the morning, fireworks at night, and a | |
| 1 November | Toussaint | families put flowers on their relatives' graves; chrysanthemums are for this, so never give them as a present |
| 24 and 25 December | the big meal is on the evening of the 24th; |
The English call the 14th of July Bastille Day. The French call it 14 , and it recalls the storming of the Bastille in 1789, early in the (officially, it also honours the Fête de la Fédération a year later).
Your other fête
Every day of the calendar has a saint, and on your saint's day people may wish you . It is a smaller thing than an , but a card or a call from a grandmother is common. In Québec, careful: simply means happy birthday.
Across the francophonie
| Where | National day |
|---|---|
| Québec | 24 June, the , with bonfires and music |
| Belgium | 21 July |
| Switzerland | 1 August, with bonfires on the hills |
How to wish it
for a birthday, from New Year's Day to the end of January, and for the whole season at the end of the year. If you are invited to a , the party often goes on until breakfast.