5 Days of French-Canadian Christmas Traditions – Le réveillon

For this third chapter in this special series examining the Yuletide customs of my native province, loyal reader, I’ll highlight a crucial difference in the actual Christmas celebration. In the anglophone tradition, the night before Christmas is generally a peaceful and quiet one. We think, of course, of The Night Before Christmas, where everyone was supposed to sleep, or of the Christmas Eve snooze of the Whos while the Grinch did his thing. Christmas morning is when presents are opened, followed by a day with family and friends, culminating in a huge dinner.

In the French tradition, Christmas Eve is a time for the réveillon. Far from being all snug in their beds, Québécois traditionally hold a nightlong dinner and dancing party. The word itself comes from the verb réveiller, which means “to wake up”. People would sleep during the day to be fresh and ready to feast and frolic on Christmas Eve.

The réveillon usually is the biggest feast of the year: a large banquet where traditional dishes abound: tourtière (a special French-Canadian meat pie), ragoût de patte (pig’s feet stew), turkey with all the trimmings, vegetables, ham, pea soup, maple syrup and so much more. You’ll also find a place of honour for the bûche de Noël, which I discussed yesterday.

Depending on the guests and hosts, the réveillon could be held before, instead of or after the traditional midnight mass. The feast was usually followed by dancing and, of course, the exchange of gifts! In my family, Santa Claus would always drop by for a visit to distribute the presents. Unfortunately, my father has the worst timing in the world and always ends up being off on some errand when the jolly old elf arrives. To this day, I’m pretty sure he has never seen Santa Claus.

If you speak or understand French, I recommend you check out “Dans nos vieilles maisons”, a popular song around Christmas time that pretty much describes a traditional réveillon celebration. And join me again tomorrow as I’ll tell you a very old Christmas story that’s been told for generations in La Belle Province!