TraditionallyNew Year's Day - is devoted to visiting parents and older relatives and exchanging gifts (instead of on Christmas Day). Don't forget to tip your concierges as they will expect it. At Easter - Chocolate eggs, fish and bells can be found in the shops. Church bells do not ring in France from the Thursday before Good Friday till Easter morning. This is because Catholic tradition suggests that all the church bells in France fly off to the Vatican on Good Friday taking with them all the misery and grief of those who mourn the crucifixion. The traditional Easter egg hunts start after the church bells have rung on Easter morning. May 1 - is a legal holiday in France. A French custom is to present muguets (lilies of the valley) to friends and loved ones to bring them happiness and porte bonheur (good luck). Everyone is entitled to pick wild muguet, found in the forests surrounding Paris. May 1st is the only day of the year that anyone can sell muguet or other flowers without a license. If you find yourself at the Elysées Palace, you might see Les Forts des Halles (porters of the Paris market), dressed in the traditional porters outfits, presenting muguet to the President of France. Assumption - celebrations such as harvest festivals and the blessing of the sea happen on this day. All Souls Day - it is the custom in France to visit the graves of relatives on the day before the Jour des Morts or on the day itself. Flowers (usually chrysanthemums) are placed on the graves. Chrysanthemums were the seasonal flowers before greenhouses existed, and are the traditional flowers used on this day. Thursday don't even consider offering chrysanthemums when invited to people's houses for dinner, etc. Christmas - Midnight Mass, called la Messe de Minuit on Christmas eve is an important part of festivities in many parts of France. Le Réveillon, the main Christmas dinner follows. Traditional holiday foods include; oysters, boudin blanc (white sausage), foie gras, pheasants, saumon fumé, huîtres, and bûches de Noël (yule log-shaped cake), chestnuts and turkey (Burgundy). It's also traditional in France for children to place their shoes in front of the fireplace in the hope that Father Christmas will fill them with small gifts. Tradition dictates that bad children get a visit from Pere Fouettard who delivers spankings. New Years Eve (Saint-Sylvestre) is celebrated with a feast "le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre". Traditional foods include foie gras and champagne. New Years Day (le Jour de l'An) is when presents and cards are exchanged. Epiphany on the 6th January, marks the end of the festive season. It is celebrated with a special cake called "la galette des rois" (cake of Kings). Inside is a trinket or fève which brings good luck and fortune for the year ahead. The person who gets the portion containing the trinket is crowned King or Queen for the rest of the day and is honoured by the rest of the family. Christian holidays - Dates change each year | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | Good Friday * | 6th April | 29th March | 18th April | | Easter (Pâques) | 8th April | 31st March | 20th April | | Easter Monday | 9th April | 1st April | 21st April | | Ascension (l'Ascencion) | 17th May | 9th May | 29th May | | Pentecost (la Pentecôte) | 27th May | 19th May | 8th June | | Whit Monday | 28th May | 20th May | 9th June |
* In Alsace and Lorraine only. | 
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