« Vive le Vent » Paroles « Long Live the Wind » Lyrics To the tune of ’Jingle Bells’ { Refrain } Vive le vent, vive le vent Vive le vent d'hiver Qui s'en va sifflant, soufflant Dans les grands sapins verts... Oh ! Vive le temps, vive le temps Vive le temps d'hiver Boule de neige et jour de l'an - mère... Joyeux, joyeux Noël Aux mille bougies Quand chantent vers le ciel Les cloches de la nuit, Oh ! Vive le vent, vive le vent Vive le vent d'hiver Qui rapporte aux vieux enfants Leurs souvenirs d'hier... Sur le long chemin Tout blanc de neige blanche Un vieux monsieur s'avance Avec sa canne dans la main - haut le vent Qui siffle dans les branches Lui souffle la romance { Refrain } Joyeux, joye ux Noël Aux mille bougies Quand chantent vers le ciel Les cloches de la nuit, Oh ! Vive le vent, vive le vent Vive le vent d'hiver Qui rapporte aux vieux enfants Leurs souvenirs d'hier... Descend vers le village, C'est l'heure où tou t est sage Mais dans chaque maison Il flotte un air de fête Partout la table est prête { Refrain } English Translation: (Refrain) Live the wind, live the wind, Live the winter wind, Which goes whistling, blowing In the big green Christmas trees, oh! Live the weather, live the weather, Live the winter weather, Snowballs and new year's day and happy new year Grandma! Merry, merry Christmas To the thousand candles Which delight toward heaven The night's bells. Live the wind, live the wind Live the winter wind Which brings to old kids Their memories of yesterday, oh! { Refrain} Along the long path All white from the white snow An old man advances With his cane in his ha nd. And all above the wind Which whistles in the branches Blows on him the romance That he sang as a young child, oh! { Refrain} And the old man Goes down toward the village, It's the time when everyone is good And the shadow dances near the fire. But in each house There's a festive air Everywhere the table is ready And you hear the same song, oh! {Refrain} Christmastime in France I n France, Christmas is a time for family and for generosity, marked by family reunions, gifts and candy for children, gifts for the poor, Midnight Mass, and le Réveillon . The celebration of Christmas in France varies by region. Most provinces celebrate Chr istmas on the 25th of December, which is a bank holiday. However, in eastern and northern France, the Christmas season begins on 6 December, la fête de Saint Nicolas , and in some provinces la fête des Rois * is one the most important holidays of the Christm as season (celebrated in January) . In Lyon, 8 December is la Fête de lumières , when Lyonnais pay hommage to the virgin Mary by putting candles in their windows to light up th e city. French Christmas Traditions French children put their shoes in front of the fireplace, in the hopes that Père Noël (aka Papa Noël ) will fill them with gifts. Candy, fruit, nuts, and small toys will also be hung on the tree overnight. In some re gions there's also who gives out spankings to bad children (sort of the equivalent of Santa Clau s giving coal to the naughty). In 1962, a law was passed decreeing that all letters written to Santa would be responded to with a postcard. When Le Réveillon Although fewer and fewer French attend la Messe de Minuit on Christmas Eve, it is still an important part of Christmas for many families. It is followed by a huge feast, called le Révei llon (from the verb ‘ réveiller ’ , to wake up or to revive). Le Réveillon is a symbolic awakening to the meaning of Christ's birth and is the culinary high point of the season, which may be enjoyed at home or in a restaurant or café that is open all night. Each region in France has its own traditional Christmas menu, with dishe s like goose, chicken, capon, turkey stuffed with chestnuts, oysters, and boudin blanc (similar to white pudding). French Christmas Desserts Throughout the French Christmas season, there are special traditional desserts: La bûche de Noël (Yule log) - A log - shaped cake m ade of chocolate and chestnuts. Representative of the special wood log burned from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day in the Périgord, which is a holdover f rom a pagan Gaul celebration. Le pain calendeau (in southern France) - Christmas loaf, part of which is traditionally given to a poor person. Treize dess erts (in Provence) - nothing like going a little o verboard during the holidays. La Galette des Rois (on Epiphany) - round cake which is cut into pieces and distributed by a child, known as or l'enfant soleil , hiding under the table. Whoever finds la fève - the charm hidden inside - is King or Queen and can choose a partner. French Christmas Decorations The sapin de Noël es. The sapin de Noël appeared in Alsace in the 14th century, decorated with apples, paper flowers, and ribbons, and wa s introduced in France in 1837 Another important aspect of French Christmas celebration s is the crèche (manger) which is displayed in churches and many homes. d fortune throughout the year. Af ter Réveillon , it i s customary to leave a candle burning in case the Virgin Mary passes by. Vocabulaire : Advent l'Avent Advent calendar un calendrier de l'Avent angel un ange Bogeyman Père Fouettard candle une chandelle Christmas Noël Christmas card une carte de Noël Christmas carol un noël, un chant de Noël Christma s Day le jour de Noël Christmas Eve la veille de Noël Christmas feast le Réveillon Christmas loaf le pain calendeau Christmas party la fête de Noël Christmas present un petit Noël, un cadeau de Noël Christmas sales ~ Noël malin Christmas tree le sapin de Noël, l'arbre de Noël December décembre Epiphany, Twelfth Night la Fête des Rois game un jeu gift wrap - le papier - cadeau Happy Holidays! Meilleurs vœux ! little saint un santon manger la crèche Merry C hristmas! Joyeux Noël ! Midnight Mass la Messe de Minuit miracle un miracle mistletoe le gui New Year's Day le Jour de l'An New Year's Eve la Saint - Sylvestre present un cadeau reindeer un renne ribbon un ru ban Santa Claus Père Noël, Papa Noël Season's greetings! Meilleurs vœux ! shepherd un berger sleigh un traîneau snow la neige snowball une boule de neige snowman un bonhomme de neige stuffed animal une peluche toy white Christmas Noël sous la neige white pudding ~ le boudin blanc Yule log la bûche de Noël La Fête des Lumières Because Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday with a Hebrew name, it may be spelled several different ways: English spellings: Hanukkah , Hanukah , Hanukka , Chanukah French spellings: Hanoucca , Hannouccah , Hanouccah , Hanoukka Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights ( la Fête des Lumières ) and the Feast of Dedication ( la Fête des dédicaces ). Les dates de Hanoucca ~ Hanukkah dates Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev, the ninth month in the Jewish calendar, and lasts for eight days. It occurs on a different date every year of the Gregorian (solar) calendar - in November or December. La nourriture de Hanoucca ~ Hanukkah food Food is a big part of the Hanukkah celebration. Most of the traditional foods are fried in oil, in remembrance of the oil tha t lasted for eight days, while others are made with dairy products (in commemoration of the Jewish heroine Judith [Yehudit]): cheese le fromage doughnut un beignet to fry frire milk le lait oil huile (feminine) potato pancake (latke) une sour cream la crème aigre Le vocabulaire de Hanoucca ~ Hanukkah vocabulary Here are the French translations for some terms related to Hanukkah, as well as Judaism in general: blessing une bénédiction candle une bougie December décembre door une porte Dreidel (spinning top) la toupie eight days huit jours family la famille game un jeu gift un cadeau Happy Hanukkah! Bonne fête de Hanoukka Jewish juif kosher casher , kasher menor ah la Ménorah miracle un miracle November novembre pocket money argent de poche prayer une prière Sabbath le sabbat song une chanson le coucher de soleil temple le temple victory la victoire window une fenêtre Kwanzaa Kwanzaa is a week - long celebration of African identity and culture throughout the world, particularly in the United States. It takes place annually from 26 December to 1 January (du 26 décembre au 1e janvier) Les sept principes de Kwa nzaa ~ The seven principles of Kwanzaa The celebration of Kwanzaa is centered around seven principles, or values: 1. Unity l'unité (Umoja) 2. Self - determination l'autodétermination (Kujichagulia) 3. Collective work and responsibility le travail la responsabilité coopératifs (Ujima) 4. Cooperative economics la coopération économique (Ujamaa) 5. Purpose l'objectif (Nia) 6. Creativity la créativité (Kuumba) 7. Faith la foi (Imani) Note : because the Swahili language is such an integral part of Kwanzaa, Swahili terms are included in (parentheses) Les couleurs de Kwanzaa ~ Kwanzaa colors Kwanzaa has three symbolic colors: le noir black (the people) le rouge red (their struggle) le vert green (hope for the fut ure) Le vocabulaire de Kwanzaa ~ Kwanzaa vocabulary Some French terms and ideas related to the celebration of Kwanzaa: Africa l'Afrique African africain African - American Noir d'Amérique art l'art book un livre candle une bougie community la communauté corn le maïs culture la culture family la famille fruit les fruits harvest la récolte heritage le patrimoine hope l'espoir humanity l'humanité mat la natte meditation la méditation rebirth la renaissance respect le respect struggle la lutte values les valeurs