Dangling Santas

[Loiseau]

What is it with France, where everything (not just the food!) is usually so tasteful, that the Christmas decorations are so horrible?  I have just spent a few days in the Pas de Calais and the Somme, and have lost count of the oh-so-witty wall-climbing Santas that nowadays hang from every chimney or gutter, the flashing reindeer in the front gardens and the 2.5-metre tall inflatable snowmen lashed to the front steps.

One village I went through seemed to have about 100 dangling Santas from different houses. Perhaps we should have a competition to nominate the village with the most?

And while I'm ranting, what is so good about buche de Noel?  Even the best cooks or cake shops I know proudly turn out things where the cake is like sawdust and the butter-icing tooth-achingly sweet, yet totally tasteless.  The only good one I ever came across was an ice-cream version from a local Vendean maitre-glacier.
Give me alcohol-rich Christmas cake any day...

Angela

 

[Apero]

[quote user="Loiseau"]One village I went through seemed to have about 100 dangling Santas from different houses. Perhaps we should have a competition to nominate the village with the most?[/quote]

 

Granted they are not everyones cup-of-tea and Chirstmas is overly commercilaized nowadays. I do like the santa's and so do children, its a personal thing isn't it. Alochol-rich cake mmmmmmm.

[Miki]

Luv 'em, luv 'em just luv 'em. I seriously do too.................

Love the lights, all the houses that look like the QE 2 is at sea and

celebrating, love the towns and villages all lit up. It's Xmas and yes,

I don't even mind Christmas spelt like that !

I have seen Father Xmas's hanging upside down, by one leg by both legs,

by something quite unimaginable, heads out of the chimney, bottom out of the

chimney...all of it means to me that it is Xmas time and I love it.

It is what sets December apart from the other months [:D]

Sure the biblical side has been lost some what and I am not too happy with the way that the buying has gone berserk.

The trouble is and the way I see it is, that the alternative could be

another grey cold, wet winter month with miserable gits saying just how

cold, grey and ''orrible it is, so sorry, some people are going to be

downright sad sods whatever happens but at least for the rest of us, we

can have a good old Xmas, up the pub, new jumper and scarf to show off

(yeh OK not that bit) bit of racing live, or on the box, left over Xmas

day turkey. Then have a drive out and search out some more

monstrosities to goggle at ! OK we don't do that but I love the way the

French are catchingt on, Xmas used to be dire, now the towns and

villages are at it and the people are getting competitive with their

own places.

Gimme more of it and let's keep Xmas a special time of year,

traditional family times, lots of giggles, lots of lights and a little

booze as well[D]

Why not ?  Life is too short to grumble at too many things eh ? And yes,

the wife goes to Midnight mass on occasions, when she can find someone

else to go with her ! And the church around here has lights this year

as well !

[Opalienne]

You're absolutely right about the dangling Santas in the Pas de Calais.   There were quite a lot last year, but this year they are absolutely everywhere!   We toyed with the idea of hanging one from a noose on our roof, but decided that it wasn't really in the Christmas spirit.  

I know there are lots of bad taste decorations round here, but I'd rather have them than nothing at all.   When we first arrived we were the only people in the village to decorate the house at Christmas, and people asking for 'la maison des anglais' would be treated to a lengthy discourse about how the house was lit up once a year.   I much prefer not being singled out like that!

[Patf]

I agree with Miki - I just love all the sparkling lights on roofs and

fronts of houses, though not so keen on the dangling santas. We used to

live in Westcliff and at this time of year the Avenues would compete

with eachother to see who had the gaudiest brightest display. I went

for many an evening walk there and it was quite sad when they took them

down. Our village here is quite subdued. Pat.

[Teamedup]

The first time I saw the dangling Santas was when we drove up to St Malo about four years ago for a week's holiday before christmas and we saw them on houses in the villages we drove through in  Central France for the first time. The following year there were some decorating the walls and roofs  in our village.

Cakes in France, well, I admit that there are some good ones, but there are things that I would never dream of buying or eating, and the bouches well, 90% are not nice and I am very very fussy as to what I would buy or eat.

Re decorated houses. I wouldn't do it, but they ALWAYS bring a smile to my face.

 

I love the idea of a mid winter festival, yuletide n'est pas. 

[Miki]

Re decorated houses. I wouldn't do it, but they ALWAYS bring a smile to my face.

Oh I forgot to say, no we wouldn't do it either but I defend, nay encourage, others to do so with impunity !

Perhaps we Malouins lead the way with clambering Santas

and the way they celebrate almost anything in these parts, make it

quite special.. This years Christmas market was terrific but the

arrival of the TGV probably helped a bit !

[Loiseau]

OK, I have to admit that the decorations do make me laugh, so that's a plus. 

I used to think the abseiling Santas were so funny when there were just the odd few, but it seems to have got quite out of hand this year.

I was on a trip to Amiens to see the fanatastic lighting of the cathedral front (every night until 6 Jan, at 7pm; lasts about an hour).  No dangling Santas, of course; just amazing visual effects, bathing the thousands of stone sculptures in light, colouring the individual faces, costumes etc and temporarily recreating the colours in which they were painted in medieval times. Brings the whole thing to life.
Magical.  Wrap up warmly...

A

[RayB]

People should decorate to suit their own style and in a manner that gives THEM pleasure. If it gives pleasure to others, so much the better.

Merry Christmas to all on the forum and may 2006 be just a little bit better than you could possibly hope for!

[Suze01]

[quote user="Miki"]Luv 'em, luv 'em just luv 'em. I seriously do too.................

It is what sets December apart from the other months [:D]

[/quote]

It's not just december...in our village one house hadn't taken their's down from last year [:O]

Our Mairie, which is on the whole lit up quite nicely, has three dangling Santas from the balcony railings plus another two Santas in the foyer.

There are many houses around and about that have massive Christmas light displays, some tasteful and some tacky, but it's Christmas and the kids love it (big ones and little ones).