What are the origins of l’Assomption on 15th August in France.
Although France has been laïque (secular) since 1905, there are a huge number of festivals and traditions based around the lives, accomplishments or remarkable events that happened to various saints.
Only 13 kilometres away from the Spanish border, this walled town is a delight of narrow cobbled streets and ancient mediaeval architecture….
As the Feria approaches, Simon Newman looks back on the traditional bull running in the streets of Ceret.
The poor were starving to death on the streets of Paris. In the royal palace, the king’s breakfast consisted of 4 chops, a full chicken, six poached eggs and a slice of ham, washed down with a bottle and a half of champagne.
No event in the Catalan calendar is more important than Els Focs de la Sant Jean or The Fires of St John, held on the region’s sacred mountain, Canigou, and in towns and villages right across Catalonia.
Despite it’s beginnings in Christianity, the Feux de la Saint Jean is linked with ancient practices and white magic
Pentecôte was a public holiday until 2005, when the French government, led by President Chirac, decided to cancel it!
Meaning “fire runs”, the Correfoc makes sure that any festival goes with a bang!
The first midsummer fire on Canigou in modern times was lit on 23 June 1955 by Francois Poujade and fellow USAP rugby fanatics – both to celebrate his birthday and Perpignan’s victory over FC Lourdes in the Yves du Manoir Challenge cup.