THE DEUX-SÈVRES MONTHLY
November...a month to remember.
Vocabulary / Vocabulaire
by Sue Burgess The first of November is All Saints' (La Toussaint) and a bank holiday (jour férié). La Toussaint is a Catholic Festival when the Roman Catholic Church honours all the saints. La Toussaint is the day before the Day of the Dead (La Commemoration des Fidèles défunts). The 2nd November was fixed as the date for remembering the dead two centuries after the date of la Toussaint was fixed. However, because the 1st November is a bank holiday, the French remember their dead on that day. Candles were lit in the cemeteries and since the 19th Century the custom has been to decorate tombs with Chrysanthemums (les chrysanthèmes).
la Toussaint........................
All Saints' Day
un chrysanthème................
a chrysanthemum
fleurir.................................
to put flowers/ to flower
un cimetière.......................
cemetery
un gerbe..............................
a wreath
le monument aux morts......
a war memorial
le cénotaphe........................
a cenotaphe
commémorer......................
to commemorate
In the countryside, around the time of All Saints, the whole family including the children helped to pick the potato crop. During the potato harvest many children took time off school and the half-term holidays were made official (les vacances de Toussaint (formerly called potato holidays «vacances patates»)).
pavoiser ............................
to decorate with flags
édifices publics.............
public buildings
les poilus.......................
«hairy» nickname given to the French soldiers in the trenches during the First World War, because they didn't have the facilities for shaving.
The 11th November is another bank holiday. If the 11th November has become a day for remembrance, it is in fact the day for remembering one day in particular, that of the Armistice of 1918. In France, the end of the second world war is remembered on the 8th May. The minute of silence was put in place for the first time in 1919. The ‘unknown soldier’ was buried under the Arc de Triomphe in 1921 and at the ceremony in 1923, the flame (Flamme du Souvenir) was lit for the first time. «Le Bleuet de France», the cornflower, France's equivalent of the poppy, was the idea of Charlotte Malleterre and Suzanne Leenhardt, both nurses at Les Invalides. They created a workshop for war invalids. The war pensioners made cornflowers out of blue material – a therapeutic activity but the sale of the cornflowers would partly cover their financial needs. The cornflower is the national symbol for remembrance in France. In 1935 the government decided that the cornflower would be sold on the 11th November. In 1957 it was decided that they should also be sold on 8th May. Ceremonies are held at the war memorial of most villages and towns. A wreath (un gerbe) with red, white and blue ribbons is laid. Lists of the people killed are read out. The minute's silence is respected. In most villages the local primary schools participate in the c e r e m o n i e s. P e r p e t u a t i o n o f t h e national memory is very important to the French. As the 11th November is a holiday, the ceremonies can be held on the day itself. The third Thursday in the month is famous for beaujolais nouveau – a new wine produced in the vineyards of Beaujolais, from Gamay grapes. The sale of beaujolais nouveau is allowed immediately after vinification has taken place.
COMPETITION WINNER! Congratulations to our competition winner, Helen Tait-Wright, 79290. A lovely image to mark the events of Guy Fawkes Night, November 5th, For a chance to see your photograph on the front cover of our magazine - please enter our monthly photo competition. Entry is free and limited to one photograph per month. Please see the website for further details. page 8