Rich in symbols, a unique moment of sharing between friends and family, Christmas traditions in Provence are a series of customs anchored in the hearts of the Provençal people delighted to share them.
The wheat of Saint Barbara (Santo Barbe)
The cycle of calendar holidays begins on December 4, the day of Sainte Barbe. Without any link with the feast of Saint Barbara, who has also become the patron saint of professions faced with the dangers of fire and explosions (firefighters, pyrotechnicians and miners). In Provence, it is traditional to deposit in very sietoun (three cups), representing the Holy Trinity, a layer of fresh moss (or a base of damp cotton) then wheat grain of the previous harvest. You can also try with lentils or chickpeas.
When the wheat is good, everything is good!
If this wheat germinates and grows thick, if it remains green at Winter solstice, it is a sign of prosperity for the year to come; fecundity, fertility and abundance! On the evening of the 24th, the very sietoun decorate the meal table Christmas. After New Year's Day Epiphany, the wheat will be planted in the open ground. In the var, we kept a little wheat and threw a few pinches into the fireplace on stormy days, evoking the Patron Saint Barbara to protect the house from lightning.
The figurines and the Christmas nativity scene
Essentials of a Christmas in Provence, these little clay figurines, Santoun, adorn the nativity scene between animals, Christian figures and typical professions of the Provence.
Big Supper and 13 desserts
The dinner of Holidays is called in Provence Big Supper, a meal of abundance and multitude of dishes shared with family. The presence on the table of the famous thirteen desserts posed from the start of the meal is essential in Provence.
And if you too immortalized your moments in holidays in Lavandou and share them with #Mylavandou
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