Hello Monaco magazine Winter 2018 - issue HM02 | Page 83
Monaco Traditions
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ENG
n Monaco, Christmas Eve brings the entire family together.
With festive decor illuminating the entire Principality, and
specialty foods on offer, it’s a perfect opportunity to share
warm moments with your loved ones.
The «Pain de Natale» is a one of the oldest Monegasque
traditions, specially consecrated during Christmas Mass.
A round, sweet bread with four to seven hazelnuts and an olive
branch stacked in the form of a cross is a must for the Christmas
table. Like many ancient traditions, it has been at risk of «extinction».
However, the Monaco Committee on Traditions is trying to revive it
in cooperation with local bakeries, selling this special sweet bread a
few days before Christmas.
Another ancient Christmas tradition involves an olive branch: the olive
branch blessing. Before sitting down to a traditional Christmas table,
the youngest or the oldest guest would dip an olive branch into a glass
of wine, go up to the fireplace and make a prayer and the sign of a
cross. All the other guests would then drink their wine and sit down to
the bountiful table, both refined and generous. And no Monegasque
Christmas feast would be complete without turkey and foie gras!
Chocolate, white and black hazelnut nougat, pine nuts and pistachios
are also on the table for the children’s delight. Traditional entertainment
included raffles and other games.
Another interesting Christmas
t radit ion is that of thirteen
desserts, served in honour of
Jesus Christ and his t welve
apostles. One of them would be
the «4 beggars», symbolizing
different Catholic orders bound
by a vow of poverty.
Casino Monte-Carlo
Thirteen Desserts
Another interesting Christmas tradition is that of thirteen desserts,
served in honour of Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles. One of them
would be the «4 beggars», symbolizing different Catholic orders bound
by a vow of poverty: Hazelnuts and walnuts for the Augustinians; dried
figs for the Franciscans; almonds for the Carmelites and raisins for the
Dominicans. The main dessert, however, is «La Pompe», a type of sweet
focaccia made with flour, olive oil, sugar, and orange flower essence.
Traditionally, it is not cut with a knife, but broken by hand, just as Christ
broke his bread. If it is done in any other way, it is said that financial ruin
is to be expected in the coming year.
The 13 desserts are particularly popular in Provence. Here is how
Marie Gasquet describes the Provençal Christmas dinner in her novel,
Childhood in Provence: «It has to be thirteen desserts, thirteen plates full
of sweets – twelve of them filled with fruits from the fields and gardens,
and the thirteenth, the most beautiful, full of dates to the brim».
New for 2017
After the festive dinner, many Monegasques attend Midnight Mass,
traditionally held by the Archbishop of Monaco. The consecrated bread
is then distributed among the attendants.
Until recently, Midnight Mass was only held in Monaco’s Cathedral. This
year, all the churches in the Principality will be holding this ceremony to
welcome the 25th of December.
© hellomonaco.com
Merry Christmas!
Hello Monaco – Winter 2018 / 81