Christmas traditions from the Provence, South of France

13 Christmas desserts, no less!



French people do have a bit of a sweet tooth. For Christmas, the main meal is serve on the evening of 24th before going to midnight mass. And in the South East of France, in a region called La Provence, an old tradition exists whereby 13 desserts are served on Christmas eve in reference to Jesus and the 12 apostles sitting at the last supper.

They are not 13 individual desserts as such. The list includes dried fruit, frest fruit, sweets etc...

So, here is a list:

• Les 4 mendiants (the 4 beggars):

         - Hazelnuts or walnuts

         - Dry figs
         - Almonds

         - Raisins

• La pompe a huile (the olive oil pump): Flat yeast bread made with olive oil such fougasse.
• les 2 nougats: White and Black nougats
• Dattes (sometimes stuffed with marzipan)
• Calisson d'Aix en Provence ( a sweet made with marzipan)
• Quince fruit paste
• Fresh white grapes
• Christmas melon
• Fresh oranges

This list may vary slightly from one region to another.

Do you have any Christmas traditions in your country? Which one do you still follow?