Paris Christmas season has started

It used to be just the U.S.A. that started Christmas right after Halloween, but Galeries Lafayette has already put up its Christmas windows. Two months of Christmas... that's a lot.

On Sunday I went to a local restaurant for lunch, a place I hadn't been since I came back to Paris. The waiter came to take our order, a familiar face, but he was not friendly and went off looking  a bit contrarié. 

I suddenly remembered that he was American, even though he speaks good French. No wonder! When he came back, we got to talking. He was from Alaska and Oregon.

"I've been in Paris on and off a long time. The thing I miss the most about the States is Christmas," he said. "It's so triste here, isn't it?"

I knew just what he meant. Paris isn't ugly at Christmas, but it just isn't... Christmassy. Paris Christmas is all about white and gold, foie gras and champagne. Nothing wrong with that, but... I miss all those American (really Teutonic) touches: Christmas carols in the stores, carolers going around in the neighborhood, Christmas trees without ugly white flocking, Christmas wreaths with big red bows on the front doors, ice skating and sledding parties, crèches on the mantel, Christmas stockings in the hearth, Christmas pageants....

"I'm going to New York for Thanksgiving," he said. "New York at Christmastime. I can't wait."

Alaskan Christmas, by Tj Cowboy, Flickr

Comments

[Shannon]

Nice article :) I agree, it's not as christmas-y as I'd like -- gotta wade through the crowds at Champs E. to get my dose of twinkle lights.

Had another question for you -- the flickr images, did you have to ask permission to use them?

Happy thanksgiving!
Shan

[Sedulia]

Hi Shan, I try to use images that are publicly available or that I took myself. On flickr there's an option where you can search for "Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content" and that's what I do. I also like to leave my own photos as Creative Commons licensed too. Putting photos on the internet seems inherently public to me because one way or another, people can copy them, whether you like that or not, right?

Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

[Cleo]

I like the way Americans do Christmas - very often sumptuously! I found the German Christmas markets to be too rustic looking for my taste. I always thought that Americans were celebrating a Victorian palate at Christmas rather than a German one. Deutsche Welle's interviews of regular Germans and Germans in Poland having a Christmas show them to be on the spartan side. One woman placed a Christmas bird in the oven on the oven rack instead of in a roasting pan. And I see that they are now starting to place candy canes on trees but candy canes aren't as popular in the States now as they once were.