2. Christmas Eve
• Christmas Eve is an important part of
Christmas celebrations and takes
place by the evening of 24 December
before Christmas . It is an
opportunity to organize a festive
meal in family , because Christmas is
still a magical moment for children,
Eve must contribute .
3. • This meal is often made of a
Christmas turkey and ended
with a Christmas cake called
Christmas log (because it
looks like a log you put in
the fire place) . It can also
be a goose and foie gras. It
is often preceded by a dish
of seafood ( oysters, etc. . ) .
4. There is also a tradition called the
Thirteen desserts, in remembrance of
Jesus and his twelve apostles , who
comes from Provence .
5. This is also the time to prepare the
socks or shoes to be near the
fireplace or under the Christmas
tree to allow Father Christmas to
deliver gifts .
6. Finally for Catholics on Christmas
Eve normally follows midnight
mass which is still very popular in
the collective mind , even though
it is often celebrated in the early
evening rather than midnight to
practical reasons ( one priest can
and celebrate several masses in
various churches). The return of
the Mass or at midnight , it is
tradition that a child adds the
character of the Child Jesus in the
manger to mean he was born .
7. « Joyeux Noël ! »
At midnight , it is
common to wish a "
Merry Christmas." In
some families, it's
time to open gifts.
Other families wait for
the next morning.
