And a belated Happy New Year to all my readers!
Or, as we say here - "Meilleurs Voeux" - 'Best Wishes', sometimes "Bonne Année" and added to that everyone seems to add "Bonne Santé - surtout Bonne Santé, parce que ça c'est la plus importante" - 'Good Health, especially Good Health, because that's the most important.'
The first person who wished me that, I thought that was their particular good year wishes, but I soon realised that everyone added the good health above all, stressing it with absolute sincerity and seriousness. Maybe there's something I haven't discovered yet about keeping good health locally. Mind you - having suffered from a cold which lasted about five weeks without relenting - also passing it on to Harry who never suffers colds - maybe there's something in the Chambertois air that we haven't yet discovered.
When I was growing up in the North East, there were various New Year customs. Apart from celebrating the New Year with friends, family, song, dance (everyone doing their bit to contribute to the entertainment), food and drink, there was 'first footing'. The first person into the house after midnight had to be possessed of a lump of coal which was to bring you good fortune in the sense that you would always be able to keep warm - the 'Long may your lum reek' idea imported from over the border. If there was a celebration in the house and people were impatient for the first foot, some unlucky person - preferably a dark-headed male I seem to think as they brought better fortune - would be sent out, maybe just before midnight, to lurk about in the cold back yard, and knock at the door with a lump of coal just after midnight. On New Year's Day, called 'Newres Day' by my dad and still now by a lot of people in the North East - you would be asked 'Who was your first foot?'.
The other tradition that persisted where we lived until a few years ago, was that where you saw a light on in someone's house on New Year's Eve or after midnight, you could knock on the door, or maybe just go in, and join in their celebrations with a New Year drink, whether or not you knew them. I suspect that particular tradition has now gone in most places.
Another tradition in our family and community, maybe now gone was to offer a New Year's drink with a slice of Christmas cake to anyone who made their first visit to your house in the New Year. Children were included and their drink would be a small glass of home-made ginger wine. The toast was 'All the best! Here's wishing you all you would wish yourselves .' Sometimes with the addition of ' . . . health, wealth and happiness.' A tradition I love and we still keep up the tradition, asking New Year callers what they would like for their New Year drink.
And so to other New Year wishes in Chamberet - last year in early January we noticed there was to be some sort of event at the Salle de Fêtes (Community Centre) which we knew we had missed out on our first January here. (We live about 100 metres from the Salle de Fêtes so often notice if there's a happenning there.) This was and is a celebration where the Mayor and councillors of our commune (a sort of equivalent of the Parish Council) present their good wishes for the New Year to the local community. It was a lovely event - everybody and their granny seemed to be there, wishing each other 'Happy New Year!' or maybe "Meilleurs Voeux!" with the usual kissing on both cheeks and shaking of hands. The Mayor then spoke for a good 45 minutes on the past year's events and forthcoming events and projects. Everyone listened attentively to him, then another speaker from the Conseil Général (like the County Council), and then there were drinks and snacks, and more kissing and shaking of hands with people you might have missed before the speeches.
We live now in very much a widespread rural community, where most events are well attended and supported. We are also now members of two community groups ('associations') in our village, so now will be greeting more people than last year and looking forward to the forthcoming New Year wishes community celebration.
© Marie Tyler 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment