How we celebrate Christmas over in France!

Curious about how people spend Christmas around the world? Here at Luna & Rose we have an international team ready to talk all about their own habits and traditions, so today we’re going to make a stop in France!

First and foremost, Christmas starts right on the 1^st of December with the advent calendar. As a child, the advent calendar was VERY important and still is to this day! We get to eat chocolate every morning until the 25^th of December, and if this isn’t the best way to wait for Christmas, I don’t know what is… Even today, my family makes sure to get me one, and they evolved through the years: they’re now full of small, personalized gifts in addition to the chocolates. I love this tradition as it gets me in a festive mood every morning and I mean, who doesn’t love a good excuse to eat chocolate every day?!

This year, I also discovered Advent of Change: a charity advent calendar! Each day through December, they donate to a charity with the money you spent on the calendar. The gift of giving truly is the best one in my opinion, and if you think so too, you should check them out here.

During the month of December, France is also famous for its Christmas markets. Walking around the cutest little artisan shops with mulled wine in hand is a great way to get your Christmas shopping done while supporting small businesses! The east side of France is known for decorating their whole town beautifully for the festive season, and their Christmas markets are full of delicious food. Also, if you’re ever in Paris during December, you should check out the shopping windows of Galeries Lafayettes and Printemps: they have incredible decorations and beautiful Christmas trees every year.

When it comes to Christmas itself, French people know how to celebrate! It starts on the 24^th with the “réveillon”: a huge dinner with your family that could go on for hours…  It usually includes tons of courses, from foie gras to the Christmas yule log at the end. It’s my favourite part of Christmas, as it’s the time where everyone reunites and it’s time to put on your favourite sparkly dress… In true French style, we definitely dress up for the occasion. The “réveillon” outfit was a very important part growing up, and I remember my sisters and I taking hours getting ready with Christmas movies in the background. Now, I’m more into stuffing myself with incredible food I have to admit…

My family exchanges gifts on the 24^th at midnight, but most people are usually patient enough to wait until the morning of the 25^th! Everyone in their pyjamas get to discover their presents and rest all day. As a kid, it was spent playing with my new toys but nowadays, it’s more of sleeping all day and eating leftover Christmas food for brunch! As I was travelling a lot the past few years and missed a few Christmases, I realized that day is also one of my favourite traditions: spending all day doing nothing with my sisters and niece truly is the best way to unwind after a crazy year.

How do YOU spend Christmas in your part of the world? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear x