If you were to stroll the streets of France in December, would you know it’s Christmas time? Yes, you would… but maybe less so than in other countries. In France, stores don’t necessarily play Christmas songs, and wishing people Joyeux Noël(Merry Christmas) is only done the week of Christmas. So Christmas is definitely in the air… but maybe a little bit less than it is in other countries.

The date for the Christmas celebration in France is a bit flexible. The Christmas meal in France is called “Le Réveillon de Noël” and traditionally used to be held late in the night on December 24th, as people return from the midnight mass. But, things change and now, many French families have their traditional Christmas meal on December 25th, or earlier in the day on the 24th.