November Festival Days in France: Saints, Soldiers and Single Ladies

From chrysanthemums and chestnuts to unknown soldiers and outrageous hats!

November in France is a month of misty mornings, golden autumn leaves, early snows and sunshine and showers, but here in the P-O the glorious gift of blue skies, warm sunshine (and yes, cooler nights) and that uplifting light keeps the blues at bay on an almost daily basis.

Nevertheless  even here in our safe little bubble, the days grow shorter and our thoughts turn towards remembrance, reflection – and a few wonderfully eccentric traditions.

We’re talking fascinating stories: ancient beliefs about the dead, the mysterious selection of France’s Unknown Soldier, and a day when unmarried women once wore spectacular hats in the hope of hooking a husband.

So grab yourself a cup of tea or a glass of Roussillon rouge and settle down in that November sunshine, or wrap up warm if you’re a little bit ‘frileux’, grab a roasted chestnut or two, and discover what’s happening in France this November!

1 November — La Toussaint

All Saints’ Day: Flowers for the departed

If you find yourself in France at the beginning of November, you may notice chrysanthemums appearing everywhere: outside florists, in supermarket car parks and piled high on roadside stalls.

This is no coincidence. Around All Saints’ Day, French families traditionally visit cemeteries to tend the graves of their loved ones, leaving pots of chrysanthemums as a sign of remembrance.

They are usually bright and beautiful and much cheaper than a floral bouquet from the local florist…..but a word of warning. Don’t offer them to the mother-in-law or a French friend if you are invited over for dinner. In France, these flowers are strongly associated with death and remembrance. Your thoughtful gesture could leave your host wondering whether you know something they don’t.

Roses, lilies or a cheerful bunch of seasonal flowers would be safer choices. 🙂

Saints, souls and the spirits of autumn

1 November — La Toussaint (All Saints’ Day)

It is believed that All Saint’s Day (la Toussaint), was originally created by the Catholic Church to honour the poor old saints and martyrs who didn’t have their own holy day.

Rather sneakily, it was also believed to be an attempt to detract attention from the Celtic, Pagan celebration of Samhain, (pronounced sow-in), born in the British Isles and later to become Halloween.

This  distraction was to turn people’s attention to celebrating the end of the bright, warm days of summer and preparing for the beginning of the cold dark nights of winter, when spirits were supposed to rise from the dead.

2 November — Le Jour des Morts (All Souls’ Day)

The following day is All Souls’ Day, traditionally devoted to praying for the souls of the departed.

So, while All Saints’ Day honours the saints, All Souls’ Day remembers the wider community of the dead, particularly those who have died and are believed to need prayers on their spiritual journey.

Although 2 November is the religious observance, it isn’t a French public holiday.

Why, then, do the French visit cemeteries on 1 November rather than 2 November?

Quite simply, because 1 November is a public holiday, a day off for many, giving people more time to visit family graves. Over time, the custom of laying chrysanthemums on graves became strongly associated with La Toussaint, even though remembering the dead is more directly linked to All Souls’ Day.

Today, the flowers are a familiar sight throughout the country, from village cemeteries to the great burial grounds of Paris.

So where does Halloween come in?

Before pumpkins, plastic skeletons and supermarket shelves full of sweets arrived, the autumn calendar already had a rather spooky history.

Halloween, celebrated on 31 October, is associated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, particularly in Ireland and other Celtic regions. Samhain marked the transition from the lighter half of the year to the darker winter months. Later Christian observances developed alongside older seasonal customs, creating a complex mixture of beliefs and traditions.

According to folklore, the boundary or veil between the living and the dead was especially thin at this time of year. Spirits might return, so people used fires, disguises and other protective customs to ward off unwanted visitors.

So, while Halloween is about frightening the living, La Toussaint is more about remembering the dead.

Halloween has become increasingly familiar in France, helped along by American films, television, shops and the enthusiasm of children who need little encouragement to dress up as vampires, witches and other creatures of the night. However, it has never quite displaced the more established French tradition of La Toussaint, which remains a time for family remembrance, and remains less deeply rooted in French culture than in countries such as the United States or Ireland. Some children go trick-or-treating, and shops may decorate their windows, but many French families still regard Toussaint primarily as a time for remembering loved ones.

The expression des bonbons ou un sort ! — trick or treat! — may be understood, but don’t expect every French door to open to a little ghost demanding sweeties

A little further south: La Castanyada in Spanish Catalonia

If you venture across the border into Spanish Catalonia, you’ll discover another autumn tradition with a distinctly nutty flavour.

Known as La Castanyada, this celebration takes place around 31 October and 1 November, alongside the observances of Tots Sants (All Saints’ Day).

The name comes from castanyes, the Catalan word for chestnuts. And chestnuts are very much the stars of the show.

Traditionally, families gather to eat roasted chestnuts, roasted sweet potatoes and panellets — little almond-based cakes, often covered in pine nuts. A glass or two of sweet Muscat wine may accompany the feast.

In some places, you’ll also encounter ossos de sant, or saints’ bones: small, bone-shaped sweets associated with the castagnada

The traditional figure of the castanyera is an elderly woman dressed in rustic clothing, roasting chestnuts for sale. She has become a familiar symbol of the season, often appearing in children’s celebrations and illustrations.

There is also an old connection between the festival and church bells. In earlier times, bells were rung through the night to call people to prayer for the dead. The bell-ringers and their companions needed something substantial to keep them going, and chestnuts and sweet potatoes provided welcome nourishment.

And then there is the porró, a traditional glass wine vessel with a long, narrow spout. Instead of putting it to your lips, you tilt it and pour the wine directly into your mouth.

Theoretically, this is an elegant way to share a drink without everyone touching the same glass. In practice, it requires a certain amount of skill, a sober and steady hand and an affection for wine-soaked clothing.

Whether in France or Catalonia, remembering the departed has long gone hand in hand with gathering together, sharing food and finding comfort in familiar traditions.

11 November — L’Armistice de 1918

Remembering the fallen

On 11 November, France pauses to remember those who died in war.

Known as l’Armistice, the day commemorates the armistice that brought the fighting on the Western Front during the First World War to an end. It was signed between the Allies and Germany and came into effect at 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918.

It was not the final peace treaty, but it marked the end of the fighting that had devastated much of Europe.

The date is now a national day of remembrance in France. Ceremonies take place at war memorials throughout the country, often attended by local officials, veterans, schoolchildren and members of the public. Wreaths are laid, flags are flown and the names of the fallen are remembered.

Many shops and public services close for the public holiday, although opening arrangements vary.

The young soldier who chose ‘le Soldat inconnu’ (the Unknown Soldier)

One of France’s most poignant memorials stands beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris: the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The soldier buried there represents the countless French servicemen who died in the First World War, many of whom could never be identified.

France had lost approximately 1.4 million military personnel during the conflict. Behind that staggering figure lay millions of grieving relatives, many without a known grave to visit.

The remains of a single French soldier slain on the battlefield of were buried on November 11, 1920, two years after the end of the ironically named the  ‘Der des Ders’ or ‘War to End All Wars’. His name is unknown but he represents and honours  more than a million French soldiers who died during this conflict.

Eight unidentified French soldiers, whose remains had been recovered from different battlefields, were selected for the ceremony that would determine which one would be honoured in Paris.

The task fell to a young soldier named Auguste Thin, a 21-year-old serving with the 132nd Infantry Regiment.

On 10 November, at the citadel of Verdun, he was asked to choose one of the eight coffins.

Thin later explained that he used the number of his regiment to make his choice. Adding together the digits of 132 gave him eight, so he placed a bunch of flowers on the sixth coffin he passed, beginning his count with the first.

That coffin was selected to represent France’s Unknown Soldier.

The soldier was buried beneath the Arc de Triomphe on 28 January 1921.

The following year, an eternal flame was installed at the tomb and was first lit on 11 November 1923. It continues to burn, symbolising remembrance of those who died for France.

The ceremony is a reminder that history is not simply about generals, battles and dates. It is also about the ordinary people whose names have disappeared but whose sacrifices have not been forgotten.

A minute to remember

At 11 a.m. on 11 November, commemorations across France recall the moment the armistice came into effect.

If you happen to be in a small French town that morning, you may find yourself among residents gathered around the monument aux morts, the local war memorial. A mayor may read a message of remembrance, schoolchildren may lay flowers, and a bugle may sound.

It can be a quietly moving experience, even if you have no personal connection with the names engraved on the stone.

25 November — La Sainte-Catherine

Hats off to the unmarried ladies!

Now for a rather different French tradition. Rather outmoded now, but nevertheless observed by some, particularly hat makers, the ‘Catherinettes’ were poor old ladies of twenty-five years old plus who had not managed to hook themselves a husband by the 25th November, Feast of Saint Catherine, patron saint of young unmarried women.

Saint Catherine herself was a young, noble and well-educated girl who lived in Alexandria at the beginning of the IV Century. According to legend, she visited the Emperor and attempted to convince him of the error of his ways in persecuting Christians. When he realised that she was successfully converting his followers, including his own wife, she was imprisoned and later condemned to death..

Her story became associated with a spiked breaking wheel, an instrument of torture that later became known as the Catherine wheel. Legend says the wheel broke when she touched it, although she was ultimately executed.

As with many early Christian saints, the details of her life are difficult to verify historically. Her story belongs partly to the world of faith and legend, where extraordinary events helped explain why a particular saint became revered.

Her association with unmarried women developed into the French custom of coiffer Sainte Catherine — literally, ‘dressing Saint Catherine’s hair’, but used to mean remaining unmarried at 25.

A hat, a prayer and a husband — preferably a good one

And if you were still single at 25, you might find yourself wearing a hat so extraordinary that it could probably be spotted from the other side of the village.

In the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, young women working in Parisian fashion houses and millinery workshops often celebrated Sainte Catherine together.

Their colleagues would make them extravagant hats, frequently using the traditional colours of yellow and green. Yellow symbolised faith, while green represented wisdom.

The hats could be enormous, theatrical and gloriously ridiculous. Some were decorated with flowers, ribbons and elaborate ornaments; others reflected the wearer’s profession or sense of humour.

The idea was to wear the creation proudly and attract attention, while friends and colleagues offered good wishes for a speedy marriage.

In a society where marriage was often regarded as an essential step in a woman’s life, reaching 25 without a husband was a bit of a disgrace!

The prayers of a desperate Catherinette

A collection of humorous traditional verses captured the changing expectations of unmarried women as they grew older.

Before reaching 25, a young woman might pray for: A mari de bon lieu (a well-established husband, someone respectable and financially secure.)

At 25, the requirements might become a little more flexible: A mari supportable, ou qui, parmi le monde, au moins puisse passer !  (a tolerable husband, or at least one who could pass muster in polite society.)

And as 30 approached, OMG the prayer became wonderfully pragmatic: Un tel qu’il te plaira, Seigneur, je m’en contente ! (‘Send me whoever you please, Lord — I’ll settle for him!’)

From matchmaking to millinery

The tradition gradually changed as women’s lives and opportunities changed. As marriage ceased to be the only socially acceptable destination for women, the idea of publicly marking a woman’s unmarried status became less relevant. Nevertheless, Sainte Catherine celebrations survived in some professional circles, especially in the fashion and millinery industries.

Even today, the date can provide an excuse for creative hat-making, workplace festivities and a celebration of French fashion heritage.

And why not? A hat is a wonderful thing. It can make a statement, start a conversation or conceal a bad hair day.

A husband, on the other hand, is rather more difficult to accessorise.

November in France: A month of memory, mystery and merriment

November may not have the glamour of the summer festivals or the sparkle of December’s Christmas markets, but it offers a fascinating glimpse into French life. It is a month for honouring the dead, remembering the sacrifices of war, sharing seasonal food and keeping alive traditions that have travelled through centuries….and it is a rather beautiful time of the year here in the P-O.

On 1 and 11 November, many shops and businesses close, although more and more remain open, particularly in larger towns and tourist areas. ‘Jour férié’  no longer means everything automatically shuts in France!