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Christenings
Children are baptised to make them members of the
Christian church. They are given a first name or “christian”
name. Water is poured over their heads to signify cleansing
and other things such as salt and oil are also used. When
children in France are christened family and friends are invited
to the church and a meal afterwards. Guests are given gift
wrapped presents of sugared almonds called “dragées”.
Weddings
It is common for people to have two ceremonies when
they get married. Firstly, they are married by the mayor in
the Town Hall (la mairie) then they move on to the church
(l'église). Sometimes the whole wedding party walks
through the streets between the two places and sometimes they
go by cars in a noisy convoy sounding their hooters.
Birthdays
Bon anniversaire! Children receive cards
(les cartes) and presents (les cadeaux) and have treats such
as a party and a cake (le gâteau).
Fete
Bonne fete! Many people are named after
saints. Each saint has a special day and people often get
sent cards on that day if they are named after a saint; for
example, St Stephen's Day is 26 December. In the Christmas
carol, Good King Wenceslas, the king goes out “on the
feast of Stephen”.
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