Today's Date:

| French Christmas Customs | Christmas Tree | The Manger | The Midnight Mass and the Réveillion | The Children and Christmas |
| Christmas Carols and Mysteries | Local Customs and Legends |

Ordinarily, young children do not attend midnight mass with their parents, but go to bed early to dream of their Christmas gifts. Before going to bed, they put their shoes by the fireside for a gift from le père de Noël or le petit Jésus. Formerly, peasants' wooden shoes, called sabots, were often used at Christmas time, but today shoes of any kind are set before the fireplace or around the tree. However, the sabots are not forgotten - chocolate wooden shoes are made by pastry shops and filled with candies.