What is The French Réveillon?

What is the French Réveillon? It is a term that can refer to either Christmas Eve (Réveillon de Noël) or New Year’s Eve. The word itself means awakening, and refers to the practice of staying awake past midnight. (Se revéiller means to wake up.) Of course, it can also describe partygoers staying up to ring in the New Year. These traditions are also celebrated in Quebec, New Orleans, and Belgium.

New Year’s Eve is also called La Fête du Saint Sylvestre, the Saint Sylvestre festival, after a 4^th-century pope who died on December 31.

French people may attend midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, celebrating either before or after the service. Christmas Eve is the traditional time to enjoy a large meal, have a festive gathering, and exchange gifts. Most gift-giving has traditionally been focused on the children, but it depends on the family.

Chocolate Truffles

For many French people, New Year’s Eve is more important than Christmas. If you know French people, you’ll be more likely to receive a New Year’s card than a Christmas Card. It’s important for the French and a cultural norm to extend good wishes for the year to come. “Bonne Année,” they say as they wish you health, happiness, and good circumstances for the coming year.

For the Réveillon Christmas Eve dinner, people often invite their extended family and/or close friends and neighbors. It can be a simple gathering or a lavish party with traditional holiday foods, such as oysters, foie gras, escargot, caviar, or smoked salmon for appetizers (and appropriate beverages to accompany them!) The main dish will often consist of game, a roasted goose, a roasted lamb, sometimes turkey or seafood.

Though foie gras (goose or duck liver pâté) originates from southwestern France, it’s enjoyed all over the country around Christmas. Most oysters come from the western coast of France near Bordeaux (the coastal town of Arcachon), Normandy, and Brittany (in the town of Cancale.) The majority of oyster consumption in France occurs at the end of the year during holiday celebrations. Is Fois Gras available in the US? Keep reading!

Calissons

Traditional sweets include chocolate truffles, Bûche de Noël (Yule log cake), and Vacherin, an ice cream and meringue dessert. In Provence, thirteen traditional Christmas desserts represent Jesus and his 12 disciples. Some families serve all thirteen of them, though not all are homemade sweets. The tray of thirteen items includes fruits, dried, candied, or fresh, as well as figs, dates, and nuts. Some Provence holiday treats include Calissons from Aix-en-Provence (candied melon and almost paste), white or dark nougat (with nuts and honey), Mendiants (small discs of dark chocolate topped with dried fruit and nuts), and fruit pâté. If you think that sounds yummy, I agree with you! And all over France, people enjoy Champagne and different wines for each course of the festive meal. (See below for links to some of these treats.)

So, in summary, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve in France are, to a large extent, about eating and drinking!

Have Your Own French Réveillon

Maybe you’re inspired to celebrate “à la Française” for Christmas Eve! What about Foie Gras? Yes, this holiday delicacy is available from online gourmet stores such as Hudson Valley and D’Artagnan. (The production of foie gras is outlawed in California, though you can still eat it if it was made outside of the state.) And yes, Amazon sells even that. As for grocery stores, check Wegmans or Fresh Market if you have one near you. (It is not sold at Whole Foods because of animal rights convictions.)

Here are some recipes you can try for your own French Réveillon!

Calisson recipe www.meilleurduchef.com/en/recipe/calisson.html
Chocolate Truffles, Vacherin, and French Onion Soup at Oliver’s France: French Christmas Treats
Mendiants chocolate treats www.thegoodlifefrance.com/how-to-make-mendiants/