You want to explain your Christmas party and your transition from old to new in French. But … you don’t have enough vocabulary. How the hell do you get started? Or your best friends live in France, Switzerland or Canada. You want to send them a card, but what the hell are you putting on it? For Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the French vocabulary is quite specific, but a few keywords will go a long way!
Christmas
First and foremost, a word of explanation about Christmas itself. What did you do the day before, what did you do the day after? Did you go to midnight mass? What are the Christmas traditions?
| Christmas | (la) Noël |
| I celebrated Christmas | j’ai fêté (la) Noël |
| the day or evening before Christmas | la veille de Noël |
| December 24 | le 24 décembre |
| ‘the other day | le lendemain |
| the day itself | le jour même |
| the midnight mass | la messe de minuit |
| every year | chaque année |
| every year | tous les ans |
| it’s a tradition | c’est une tradition |
| kisses under the mistletoe | s’embrasser sous le gui |
Christmas decorations
The Christmas decorations then. Vocabulary to describe your Christmas tree.
| the Christmas tree | le sapin |
| an artificial Christmas tree | un sapin artificial |
| the pendulum | la garland |
| gilded and silver garlands | des garlands dorées et argentées |
| string of lights | une garlands luminous |
| the Christmas balls | les boules de Noël |
| the peak | la pointe |
| an angel | un ange |
| decorate | décorer |
| Santa | le Père Noël |
| the reindeer | le renne |
The nativity scene
The Nativity scene is also a traditional part of Christmas, whether you are a Catholic or not. For a French description it is best to use the following vocabulary.
| the nativity scene | la crèche |
| straw | la paille |
| the figures | les santons |
| cotton wool (for snow) | la ouate |
| the star | l’étoile |
| the shepherd | le berger |
| the ox | le boeuf |
| the donkey | l’âne |
| the camel | le chameau |
| the crib | la crèche |
| the three wise men | les Rois Mages |
Source: Unknown, Flickr (CC BY-2.0)
Specific to Provence: the santons
The santons are typical figures from the nativity scene in Provence. They are figures of shepherds and milkmaids. The men usually wear a brown cape and black felt hat. Whole scenes are built up with these figures. The shepherds carry the sheep on their shoulders and come from the mountains. The milkmaids bring milk jugs and chat with each other in picturesque Provencal villages. The santons are available in different sizes. You have them tiny, about 2 to 3 cm per figure, but sometimes they can also be about 10 to 15 cm in size.
The menu and the clothing
Sometimes something special is put on the table at Christmas and the Christmas stump should certainly not be missing. The clothing is also special, everyone is at their Easter best. In French this will be:
| a traditional menu | un menu traditionnel |
| deer | la biche |
| Turkey | la dinde |
| stuffed turkey | une dinde truffée |
| wild | le gibier |
| a D | le canard |
| the Christmas log | la bûche |
| we drank 2 bottles with 4 | on a bu 2 bouteilles of 4 |
| Fed up | être ivre, être pompette, être saoul |
| having a hangover | avoir la gueule de bois |
| be at its Easter best | se mettre sur son 31 |
Old to new and packet time
On New Year’s Eve, packages are sometimes handed out, sometimes for a specific sum. The lucky one is determined by a draw. The package is packed and provided with a ribbon and a bow. New Year’s Day is also the time of good resolutions. And now in French with the following words:
| December 31 | la Saint-Sylvestre |
| the countdown | le compte à rebours |
| firework | le feu d’artifice |
| the party | le réveillon (both for Christmas and New Year) |
| New Year | le Nouvel An |
| New Year’s Day | le jour du Nouvel An |
| good intentions | les bonnes resolutions |
| the draw | le tirage au sort |
| a certain sum | un montant préétabli |
| the bow | le noeud |
| the ribbon | le ruban |
To wish
Finally, we also write Christmas cards or send electronic wishes during this period. Some French phrases to send your best wishes. By the way, in France you can transfer your end-of-year wishes until January 31st.
| best wishes | meilleurs voeux |
| Merry Christmas | Joyeux Noël |
| Happy New Year | Bonne Année |
| I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year | je vous souhaite un joyeux Noël et une Bonne Année |
| Nice parties | Bonnes fêtes! |
You can go a long way with this vocabulary. Have fun writing your essay, speaking or writing Christmas greetings to your French-speaking friends!
