Thank you (merci) for following me. With yesterday's research I came up with lots of ideas for my logo. It's just amazing what this country has to offer. One of the persons (persone) I follow on Twitter came up with this link for shoes: http://www.repetto.fr/. It's one of the most beautiful websites I have seen.
So let's start today with something light full. How about with a Joke (blage)? Oui?
One Joke / Un blage:
Dans un bal, un monsieur dit à une fille.
- Mademoiselle, comme les danses me semblent courtes avec vous.
- Bien sûr, répond la fille, le chef d'orchestre est mon fiancé.
At a ball, a gentleman said to a girl.
- Mademoiselle, as the dances seem short with you.
- Of course, she replied, the conductor is my fiance.
Tradition
French traditions are numerous and diverse. the French have a taste for custom and tradition, yet also pride themselves as forward thinkers, in the avant garde.
Beheading Bottles of Champagne
A tradition that is popular at weddings (mariage) is beheading bottles of champagne using a specially-made saber. The tradition originated in the time of Napoleon when the Hussards under the famous general's command began celebrating victories by swinging a sabre and thus neatly slicing the top off a champagne bottle. According to legend, the Hussards, skilled cavalry, would ride up at full gallop to one of the ladies holding up the bottle and with one swipe, behead the bottle.
Christmas
Many old French traditions are related to the holiday season. Holding a puppet show on Christmas eve is very common and later at midnight, people attend church for the traditional Christmas Mass.
After mass, they have a late Christmas Eve dinner, called le Réveillon (referring to the wake up or revival, alluding to the birth of Christ). Menus for this occasion change according to the region you are in but will usually consist of dishes containing turkey, capon, goose, chicken, and boudin blanc (white sausage).
Children wait for Père Noël (Santa Clause) and leave their shoes out in front of the fireplace, doping presents will fill them by morning. The tree is hung with nuts and candy. Children also believe in Père Fouettard who hands out spankings for anyone who's been naughty.
Easter
Called Pâques in France, this is a very important time for the French, who have a strong Christian, and especially Catholic, background. According to tradition, no church bells are rung on the Thursday before Good Friday and remain silent for several days, until on Easter Sunday, they revive. As the bells toll, the custom is for people to hug and kiss each other.I think that's a wonderful tradition. Hugs and Kisses (Étreintes et de baisers) to you today.
Flying Bells
Children don't look for eggs left by an Easter Bunny… rather, the French believe that the Flying Bells leave on the Thursday(jeudi) before Good Friday (vendredi), taking with them all the grief and misery of mourners of Christ's crucifixion, reaching Rome to see the Pope and then come back on Easter Sunday morning bearing chocolate easter eggs, which are hidden around houses and gardens for children to find.
Poisson d'Avril
This is the name used for the French Easter Fish and also comes in a chocolate version. An age-old tradition however, that dates back several centuries, involving the Poisson d'Avril, takes place on April 1st. The great joke is for children to make fish of paper and pin as many as possible to the backs of adults, then run gleefully away yelling “Poisson d'Avril!!”, which is a little like saying “April Fools!”
Bastille Day
Celebrated on July 14, this is one of France’s most colorful traditions. The day commemorates the day The Bastille, a prison in Paris that was regarded as the symbol of the much-hated French monarchy of the times, was stormed and pillaged by angry mobs of French citizens in 1789. Called La Fête Nationale, many fireworks are set of as the day goes by, well into the night. Parades are also to be seen with dancing (danse) in the streets (rues).
5-Week Holidays
Another interesting tradition of the French is the fact that almost all employees are entitled to 5 ( cinq )weeks of holiday (vacances) a year. August has been the traditional holiday month in France, with almost all locals clearing out of their cities to venture to other parts of the world or simply to go camping in their own countryside. For those taking their holidays during the winter months, skiing in the French Alps is the way to go.
French Culinary Traditions
The French are known for taking their food very seriously.
Professional Food Traditions
Auguste L'Escoffier, restauranteur and food critic, unified the best French cooking techniques in a standard recognizable form.
L'Escoffier also created an traditionally French organizational system for professional kitchens based on a division of labor, brigade system. This system has been widely adopted everywhere. F
French Bread
There is almost nothing more traditional in France than the sight of people lining up outside of the local boulangerie (bread (pain) store) waiting for their fresh baguette which they will eat with breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are even regulations on ingredients and method of production of the baguette traditionelle.
French Traditions and The Arts
France has long distinguished itself in the areas such as painting, music, dance and cinema by beingavant garde, exploring new themes and techniques.
The Fine Arts Tradition in France
Some of the most beloved French paintings are by French Impressionist painters like Monet and Renoir. They, however, were rebelling against the formality of the classical tradition represented by great masters like Jacques Louis David, whose massive battle and coronation scenes hang in the Louvre.
Pablo Picasso was not French, however, he spent all of his extraordinary painting career (carrière)in France where he and other native French painters like Henri Matisse broke even further away from representative painting, ushering in twentieth modernism.
French Film Traditions
The French Lumiere brothers are generally credited with being among the first to create moving images. Their early experiments recorded everyday events, such as trains arriving at stations ( train station / gare) . Thus began a long tradition of film production in France. After World War II, the Nouvelle Vague or New Wave launched a French cinematic tradition when a group of young critics including François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, who were intrigued American auteur directors, started making their own films. Here are examples of that French film tradtion:
| Film Title | In English | Director | Year |
| Les Quatre-Cent Coups | The 400 Blows | Truffaut | 1959 |
| À Bout de Souffle | Breathless | Godard | 1959 |
| Pickpocket | Pickpocket | Bresson | 1959 |
| Les Biches | The Bad Girls | Chabrol | 1968 |
| Cleo de 5 à 7 | Cleo from 5 to 7 | Varda | 1962 |
These are only a brief sampling of the many French traditions that make the culture endlessly fascinating.
Quotes ( Citations)
Here are some the most famous citations. Want more, here you can read up another 43:
Le plus grand faible des hommes, c'est l'amour qu'ils ont de la vie.
Man's greatest weakness is his love of life.
Molière
Man's greatest weakness is his love of life.
Molière
La vérité vaut bien qu'on passe quelques années sans la trouver.
Truth is more valuable if it takes you a few years to find it.
Renard
Truth is more valuable if it takes you a few years to find it.
Renard
A vaincre sans péril, on triomphe sans gloire.
To win without risk is a triumph without glory.
Corneille.
To win without risk is a triumph without glory.
Corneille.
Le travail éloigne de nous trois grands maux: l'ennui, le vice et le besoin.
Work delivers us from three great evils: boredom, vice and want.
Voltaire.
Work delivers us from three great evils: boredom, vice and want.
Voltaire.
Qui craint de souffrir, il souffre déjà de ce qu'il craint.
He who fears suffering is already suffering that which he fears.
La Fontaine.
He who fears suffering is already suffering that which he fears.
La Fontaine.
Rien ne pèse tant que un secret.
Nothing weighs more than a secret.
La Fonataine.
Nothing weighs more than a secret.
La Fonataine.
Généralement, les gens qui savant peu parlent becoup, et les gens qui savant beaucoup parlent peu.
Generally speaking, the people who know little speak a lot and the people who know a lot speak little.
Rousseau.
Generally speaking, the people who know little speak a lot and the people who know a lot speak little.
Rousseau.
Ce n'est pas tant d'être riche qui fait le bonheur, c'est de le devenir.
It's not so much being rich that makes one happy, it's becoming rich that does.
Stendhal.
It's not so much being rich that makes one happy, it's becoming rich that does.
Stendhal.
Quand on a le droit de se tromper impunément, on est toujours sûr de réussir.
If you allowed to make mistakes, you are sure to succeed.
Renan.
If you allowed to make mistakes, you are sure to succeed.
Renan.
Le vrai philosphe n'attend rien des homes, et il leur fait tout le bien don't il est capable.
The true philosopher expects nothing from others and offers them the best he can give them.
Voltaire.
The true philosopher expects nothing from others and offers them the best he can give them.
Voltaire.
Le travail n'épouvante que les âmes faibles.
Work only frightens feeble souls.
Louis XIV.
Work only frightens feeble souls.
Louis XIV.
Il est difficle de vaincre ses passions, et impossible de les satisfaire.
It is difficult to master your passions and impossible to satisfy them.
De La Sabliére.
It is difficult to master your passions and impossible to satisfy them.
De La Sabliére.
La parole nous a été donnée pour déguiser notre pensée.
We were given speech to hide our thoughts.
Talleyrand.
We were given speech to hide our thoughts.
Talleyrand.
Comprendre, c'est pardoner.
To understand is to forgive.
De Stael.
To understand is to forgive.
De Stael.
L'orgueil est le consolateur des faibles.
Pride is the consolation of the weak.
Vauvenargues.
Pride is the consolation of the weak.
Vauvenargues.
On finit toujours par mépriser ceux qui sont trop facilement de notre avis.
You end up despising those who are too ready to accept your opinion.
Renan.
You end up despising those who are too ready to accept your opinion.
Renan.
Méfiez-vous de tout le monde, et particulier de ceux qui conseillent de vous méfier.
Don't trust anyone, especially those who advise you not to trust anyone.
La Robertie.
Don't trust anyone, especially those who advise you not to trust anyone.
La Robertie.
Toute méchanceté vient de faiblesse.
Meanness comes from weakness.
Rousseau.
Meanness comes from weakness.
Rousseau.
Il y a deux manières d'être malheureux: ou désirer ce que l'on n'a pas, ou posséder ce que l'on désirait.
There are two ways to become unhappy: to desire what you don't have or to have finally gotten what you have desired.
Louys.
There are two ways to become unhappy: to desire what you don't have or to have finally gotten what you have desired.
Louys.
En art comme en amour, l'instinct suffit.
Whether it is art or love, your instinct will suffice.
France.
Whether it is art or love, your instinct will suffice.
France.
L'ignorance est toujours prête à s'admirer.
Ignorance is always ready to admire itself.
Boileau.
Ignorance is always ready to admire itself.
Boileau.
Passer pour un idiot aux yeux d'un imbécile est une volupté de fin gourmet.
To be seen as an idiot in the eyes of an imbecile is a pleasure worthy of a fine gourmet.
Courteline.
To be seen as an idiot in the eyes of an imbecile is a pleasure worthy of a fine gourmet.
Courteline.
C'est une grande habileté que de savoir cacher son habilité.
It takes great skill to hide the fact that you have great skill.
Rochefoucauld.
It takes great skill to hide the fact that you have great skill.
Rochefoucauld.
La gratitude, comme le lait, tourne à l'aigre, si le vase qui la contient n'est pas scrupeleusement propre.
Gratitude, like milk, turns sour if its container is not absolutely clean.
Gourmont.
Gratitude, like milk, turns sour if its container is not absolutely clean.
Gourmont.
Le genie est une longue patience.
Genius is patience.
Buffon.
Genius is patience.
Buffon.
Il y a des gens qui n'ont de leur fortune que la crainte de la perdre.
There are those who get nothing out of their fortune other than the fear of losing it.
Rivarol.
There are those who get nothing out of their fortune other than the fear of losing it.
Rivarol.
Le monde appelle fous ceux qui ne sont pas fous de la folie commune.
Mad are labelled those who do not take part in the common madness.
Roland.
Mad are labelled those who do not take part in the common madness.
Roland.
Et ceux qui ne font rien ne se trompent jamais.
Those who never do anything can never do anything wrong.
Banville.
Those who never do anything can never do anything wrong.
Banville.
L'ennui est entré dans le monde par la paresse.
Trouble came to the world through laziness.
La Bruyère.
Trouble came to the world through laziness.
La Bruyère.
On ne peut désirer ce qu'on ne connaît pas.
You cannot desire what you do not know.
Voltaire.
You cannot desire what you do not know.
Voltaire.
Fuyez un ennemi qui sait votre défaut.
Fear the enemy that knows your weakness.
Corneille.
Fear the enemy that knows your weakness.
Corneille.
Le courage, c'est l'art d'avoir peur sans que cela paraisse.
Courage is the art of being frightened and not showing it.
Véron.
Courage is the art of being frightened and not showing it.
Véron.
Les grandes pensées viennent du coeur.
The greatest thoughts come from the heart.
Vauvenargues.
The greatest thoughts come from the heart.
Vauvenargues.
Les homes ne croient jamais les autres capables de ce qu'ils ne le sont pas eux-mêmes.
People never believe others capable of doing that which they themselves are not capable of doing.
De Gondi.
People never believe others capable of doing that which they themselves are not capable of doing.
De Gondi.
Traditions in pictures:
Have a lovely day (Avoir une belle journée)
Translation and listen: http://translate.google.com.au
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