Welcome to the French Today Blog

In France the tradition of serving this frangipane filled tart can be traced back to the 14th century. A small bean, coin or porcelain fève is baked inside the cake and whoever receives the little favor is then crowned king/queen for the day. So don't chew too hard in this delicious pastry, and save your teeth!!

New Year's eve in France is called "la Saint Sylvestre" (pronounced "la sin(nasal) seal vay str") and is - unlike its name might indicate - not a religious holiday. Celebrated during the night of December 31st, we usually party with friends and/or family, in a more or less casual way.

Le Douzième Jour – Voyage de l’hôtel Weisshorn à Gruben

Les planches de bois du deuxième étage de l’ancien hôtel Weisshorn ont craqué toute la nuit chaque fois que quelqu’un s’est levé pour aller aux toilettes.  C’était donc une nuit de sommeil agité.  Quand le matin est finalement arrivé, nous sommes allés à la salle à manger pour prendre notre petit-déjeuner.  Nous avons mangé ce qui était devenu notre petit-déjeuner de routine, c’est-à-dire du pain et du fromage.

Joyeuses fêtes de fin d'année à tous, and thank you all for your support of French Today.
I've published a couple of Christmas related blogs that I thought I'd list here for your convenience:

The last arrondissement is a neighborhood of young families and the dead. Père Lachaise Cemetery—the largest green space in Paris—takes up 108 acres and is filled with those who made Paris what it is. And since this is the final stop on our virtual tour of Paris it seems fitting that the only real museum in the neighborhood is a graveyard.

A Classic French Christmas Dessert

The origins of this most famous and delicious of French pastries can be traced back to the ancient Celtic tradition of celebrating the winter solstice. On this day, the shortest of the year, the Celts would search for a large trunk of either oak, beech, elm or cherry and would burn it. The burning log was a symbol of the rebirth of the sun as well as an offering of thanks to the sun for returning to the earth.