The Christmas Fair Season .... Alsace in Provence

The end of November marks the beginning of the season for the Marché de Noel. It seems that every city, town, village, hamlet, school and vineyard has its own. They range from the very small and amateur, as in our local one.......

..... to the large, elaborate and more expensive, as in Aix-en-Provence with its wooden chalets....

One of the more extraordinary ones is that held every year in Sénas. What makes it different is that it combines stands from local organizations with a significant number of stands from Alsace, some six hundred kilometers away. There was even a pizza van that had made the journey. There are all the trappings of Alsace - sauerkraut, sausage, beer, gewürztraminer and traditional costumes.

At the Christmas Fairs there are all sorts of potential holiday gifts. Above all there are usually one or more sellers of Provencal Santons. These are little figures that are made in clay, baked and then painted in bright colours. They became widespread after the French revolution and the usual Christmas cribs held in the churches were suppressed. The Provençaux made their own cribs to have in their homes. Little by little these expanded beyond being the traditional Xmas characters and started including figures of all the inhabitants of the village, often apparently, recognizable!

Shapes of Autumn/Fall

Autumn not only brings incredible colours to the Luberon, but there is an interesting variety of striking shapes.

When I first saw strange fields full of sticks growing in rows, I could not think what exotic plant they were.......

......only to discover they were fields of decapitated sunflowers!

Autumn is the season for violently trimming the characteristic plane trees found throughout Provence. They provide cooling shade in summer, only to be completely cut back in Autumn...and grow back in full force in Spring.

Equally striking are the weird shadows cast by the emasculated trees in the strong afternoon sun....

When walking, the ground is often covered with large numbers of acorns - which were an important part of the diet of early inhabitants of the area.

The typical three-legged ladder also makes its appearance in autumn, as it is used to pick the higher branches of the olive trees and, as here, the pomegranate tree.

The setting sun brings into sharp relief the ironwork used on top of civic and ecclesiastical buildings. (This is used to provide the height of a bigger tower but with less likelihood of it being blown down by the infamous Provencal mistral). The smoke from buring leaves only adds to this autumnal scene.

Perhaps you can understand why we find autumn to be a wonderful time to be in Provence!!

Colo(u)rs of Autumn / Fall

Autumn in the Luberon is a magical time.

The Oak leaves turn to gold......

.......the olives ripen....

....... and the grape vines change the landscape.

One can now readily see the vines that have not been tended - an inheritance dispute??

Meanwhile some begin to prune their vines, although most wait until later.

The cherry trees take on a sad grace....

.....and around the villages the various creepers turn into a dazzling display of reds...

....with beauty emerging even in decay.