It all started last year, when I was on my way out of the supermarket - struggling with a shopping trolley which seemed to have at least one square wheel and a mind of its own - and found myself face to face with an attractive young woman who thrust a packet of seeds into my hand and stood back, smiling expectantly.

On closer inspection, the seeds appeared to be grain of some kind and the words “Le Blé de la Sainte-Barbe” was printed on the side of the packet.  I looked around for a clue: the young woman was one of a group wearing official-looking badges, so I gathered it was all in aid of some good cause,  and one side of the supermarket lobby had been decorated with posters showing photos  of what looked like saucers of mustard and cress.

None the wiser, but not wanting to appear a complete ignoramus, I smiled as if all had suddenly become clear and bought the seeds. Who was Sainte-Barbe, I wondered, as I lurched off with my trolley?  The patron saint of beards?  And what did that have to do with grain?  I headed for the local médiathèque to find out more.

Sainte-Barbe

After some digging, I discovered that Sainte-Barbe lived in the 14th century and, in a scenario straight out of a fairy tale, she was imprisoned in a tower by her own father, who was bitterly opposed to his daughter’s wish to convert to Catholicism.  Showing remarkable resourcefulness, the daughter managed to smuggle a Catholic priest into the tower to perform the necessary rites.  When her father found out, he was so incensed that he set fire to tower, attempting to burn her alive.  She outwitted him again and escaped from the burning tower but, sadly, he got the best of her in the end by decapitating her. 

According to the story, when the daughter’s head parted company from her body, a lightning bolt came down from the sky, striking the father dead.  Since then, Sainte-Barbe has become the saint associated with protecting people from violent deaths (I admit, I can’t quite see the logic of that, seeing as the poor girl herself died a particularly violent death) and is celebrated on the 4th of December, a day which symbolically marks the beginning to the lead up to Christmas in Provençal custom.

Traditionally, on Sainte-Barbe’s day, one planted “Le Blé de la Sainte-Barbe” (“Lou blad de santo Barbo” in Provençal) by lining three bowls with moistened cotton and planting wheat or lentil seeds.   The three bowls represent fruitfulness, fertility and fraternity.  If the seedlings grew well, the family could expect a good harvest the following year.  The seedlings were kept watered and left to grow until Christmas Eve, when they were dressed with red or yellow ribbons (the colours of Provence) and displayed on the dining room table.  During the evening, the plants would be cut and the cuttings placed in the household crèche, as a symbolic gift to the infant Jesus.  Once trimmed, the saucers or bowls were placed around the crèche, to represent wheat fields.

Agriculture was and still is the principal industry in many parts of Provence, so this would explain the importance placed on this symbolic planting of the seeds.  Still, I was rather shocked to realise I had lived the best part of 20 years in the Var and was totally ignorant of this particular custom.  I started to wonder what else I didn’t know, so I carried on digging for information.

Santons

It turns out, the 4th of December is also the day when by tradition les Provençaux prepare their nativity scenes or crèches.  The idea of reproducing the nativity scene with figurines is attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi.  He used pâte à sel (made from flour and salt) to represent the Virgin Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus and added a donkey, a bull and the three wise men.  He called his figurines the Santi belli.

It was the Franciscan monks who brought Santons to Provence towards the end of the 13th century.  Les Provencaux added more figures to make extended crèches which included not only the traditional biblical figures but also integrated popular local characters, representations of local professions and an enlarged menagerie of animal subjects.  (The late, great Pavarotti seems to have sneaked into the nativity scene pictured here but I can’t quite work who the bruiser in the mop cap is supposed to be?).

Santons disappeared during the French Revolution, but resurfaced in the early 1800’s.  In 1820 Louis Lagnel fashioned the first recorded Provençal santon out of clay.  Ten years later, the first Foire aux Santons was held in Marseille, with just three exhibitors.

Le Reveillon

Moving on to Christmas Eve, the Provençal Christmas table was dressed with three white cloths, representing the Holy Trinity and lit with three candles, representing the Virgin Mary, Joseph and Jesus. The prepared bowls holding the seedlings of “le ble de la Sainte-Barbe” were given pride of place, among the dishes of food, on the table.

The following morning, on Christmas Day, one of the white cloths from the night before was removed before setting the table for lunch.  This cloth was in turn removed the following day, the 26th.

Going back to Christmas Eve, the Provençal tradition of the Yule log, or “trefoir” dates back to at least the 17th century.  On le Reveillon de Noël, once the table was dressed, the whole family would form a procession to go outside and choose a nice log (usually oak or wood from a fruit tree) and carry it around the house three times, singing a Provençal verse, inviting good fortune to enter the house; for the women and female goats to be fertile and for wheat and wine to be plentiful throughout the year. 

The log was then anointed three times with mulled wine, usually by the youngest child present, and burned on the fire.  The ashes were kept to bring good fortune and protection from fire throughout the year and were used in a range of home remedies.

Le Gros Souper

The main event of a Provençal Christmas is le gros souper, the traditional meal, served on Christmas Eve.  The meal consists of 7 low fat dishes, symbolic of les sept douleurs (the seven sorrows) of the Virgin Mary.  No meat is served, other than fish, crustacea or snails.  The dishes vary from region to region, but in general would include cabbage and/or garlic soup flavoured with sage and olive oil, celery, cod with spinach, truffles, cheese and cardoons (thistle-like plants, related to the artichoke).

The traditional dessert is less bland.  Provençal tradition dictates that, on returning from midnight mass on Christmas Eve, one should offer one’s guests 13 different desserts (one for every person present at the Last Supper).  Again, the ingredients can vary, but generally include dried figs, dates, prunes and raisins, hazelnuts, almonds, apples, pears, yellow melons, pompe à l’huile (sweet bread flavoured with orange), quince jam and black and white nougat.
In accordance with tradition, la pompe should be broken or torn apart when served (in the same way that Christ broke the bread) and not cut with a knife, at risk of incurring bad luck during the coming year.

Originally the 13 different desserts were served in the form of their base ingredients.  Nowadays, with our more sophisticated tastes and ingredients more readily available, shops sell ready-made confections which incorporate some or all of the ingredients, such as sweet bûches de Noël (Yule or Christmas logs), pâte d’amande and calissons (marzipan and marzipan-base sweets) and candied fruits.

And now, all that remains to be said is “Bon Nouvè!” (Merry Christmas) and “Bono Annado!” (Happy New Year) to you all.  

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form