French holidays and traditions include Bastille Day on July 14th celebrating independence, Christmas involving midnight mass, and weddings consisting of a white dress and decorating the church with flowers. Birthdays in France are also celebrated with singing, gifts, and a decorated fruit tart instead of a frosted cake.

1. By: Denise Cochran

3.  French Independence
Day and is celebrated
on July 14th every year
much like our 4th of
July on July 4th. This
day marks the
anniversary of the
storming of the
Bastille. They celebrate
the day with
fireworks, parades, and
family time. You often
here the French
National Anthem
playing throughout the Bastille Day Parade
day.

4.  Christmas Day falls on
December 25 every year. This
holiday is celebrated all over
the world by people
exchanging gifts, decoration
Christmas trees, throwing
parties and spending time
with the family. Everyone’s
Christmas has different
traditions including France.
In France the adults go to a
party called midnight mass
while the children are
sleeping in their beds waiting
for Santa Clause. At the
Christmas mass churches are
lit with many people sing
carols and ringing bells.
Christmas Mass

5. When is comes down to weddings many people have different ways of doing
things. There are different cultural traditions or even family traditions.

6.  Before the wedding the
bride receives a hope
chest from her parents
with hand carved
symbols. The chest is
then used as the
bride’s trousseau. The
bride also takes a ritual
bath for purification of
the bride. Once the
bride is ready the
groom escorts her to Bride getting ready for
the church on the
wedding day. the Wedding

7.  The bride must
wear white like
most weddings.
The white wedding
dress symbolizes
the
purity, innocence
and joy of the
bride. Even the
flowers are white.
Princesses Kate’s
wedding day

8.  The church is decorated in
incense and flowers from head
to toe in white from the inside
out. Once the guest have
arrived and seated the
wedding starts. Traditional
French music is played and the
groom walks his mother down
the aisle. Later the bride was
down the aisle with her dad.
Priest’; s final blessing is
received by the couple under a
silk canopy aka carre. As the
couple leaves the church they
are showered with wheat and
rice which symbolizes fertility
and prosperity
Rice being thrown at a
wedding

9.  At the reception traditional
French foods are served as well
as French wines and cake. The
traditional French wedding
cake is called Croquembouche.
The Brides wears wreaths of
flowers in their hair at the
reception. There is also a table
for gifts guest bring to
celebrate the couple. The bride
and bridegroom toast each
other from an engraved, two-
handled cup (the coupe de
mariage). This cup is later
passed on throughout the
family. Later the bride throws
her garter at the guests and it
is thought to bring good luck
Coupe de Mariage
to whoever catches hold of it.

10. French birthdays are celebrated a lot
like we celebrate our birthdays. We
both sing song and throw parties.

11. The French Birthday song:
Bon anniversaire
Nos voeux les plus
sincères
Que ces quelques fleurs
Vous apportent le bonheur
Que l'année entière
Vous soit douce et légère
Et que l'an fini
Nous soyons tous réunis
Pour chanter en choeur Kids sing the Happy
Birthday song in
French

12.  On your birthday in
France you are
given gifts from
your family and
friends.
Birthday Presents

13.  Instead of getting a
birthday cake you get a
birthday tart. Birthday tarts
are heavily decorated, but
not with frosting most likely
fruit. In France the birthday
person’s name is not
written on the birthday tart.
The birthday tart has a
number of candles lit on
top for the birthday person
the blow out and make a
wish. The number of
candles depends on how
old the birthday person is Birthday Tart
turning.