Spoil the French and spare the Child
BACK in the 1950s, the bishop of Dijon burnt an effigy of Father Christmas in front of his church. He and other French bishops regarded le père Noël as “a clever invention to rob Christmas of its Christian character”. How right they were. These days the French are second to none in gastronomic celebration of the holiday. Baby Jesus, however, hardly makes an appearance.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Spoil the French and spare the Child”
From the December 20th 1997 edition
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