New Year’s Day (1 January, Jour de l’An) is a gentle reset after the long Réveillon feast of oysters, foie gras, and champagne. At midnight, church bells and fireworks ring across towns from Paris to Provence. Families exchange ‘bonnes résolutions’ and, throughout January, it is customary to send formal New Year’s greetings (voeux) by card or in person. The festive season lingers until Epiphany, when bakeries sell the galette des rois - a puff-pastry cake with a hidden fève (charm). Whoever finds it becomes king or queen for the day.

Good Friday (date varies) is observed only in Alsace and Moselle, a reminder of the regions’ unique history under alternating French and German rule. It reflects the Concordat legacy that preserved certain religious holidays after the 1905 separation of Church and State. Churches hold solemn liturgies, and in Strasbourg and Metz, many bakeries mark the day with simple breads and fish dishes. In the rest of France it is a regular workday, making Alsace–Moselle stand apart culturally and legally.

Easter Monday extends the holiday after Easter Sunday’s family feasts of lamb and chocolate bells. Across the country, parks and château gardens host egg hunts, while rural areas may feature fêtes de Pâques with markets and music. In Bessières, near Toulouse, villagers famously cook a giant omelette de Pâques in a pan over four meters wide, using more than 10,000 eggs - a tradition said to date back to Napoleon’s troops.

Labour Day (1 May, Fête du Travail) is a dual holiday of politics and poetry. Trade unions march in major cities with banners for workers’ rights, recalling labor struggles of the 19th and 20th centuries. At the same time, families and friends give sprigs of lily of the valley (muguet) as tokens of luck and happiness - a custom dating back to the Renaissance court of Charles IX and revived as a popular tradition in the early 1900s. Street vendors, often without licenses, fill avenues with the flower’s delicate scent.

This is a public holiday in France.

This is a public holiday in France.

This is a public holiday in France.

Bastille Day (14 July, Fête nationale) celebrates liberty, equality, and fraternity. It recalls the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789, a symbol of absolute monarchy. The morning military parade down the Champs-Élysées in Paris, attended by the President and foreign dignitaries, is broadcast live nationwide. Fighter jets of the Patrouille de France paint tricolore trails across the sky. At night, fireworks explode over monuments like the Eiffel Tower and Carcassonne’s medieval citadel. In villages, bals populaires - open-air dances with accordions and DJs under strings of lights - unite generations in celebration.

Assumption of Mary (15 August, Assomption) brings pilgrimages to sanctuaries such as Lourdes, Rocamadour, and La Salette. In coastal towns, processions carry statues of Mary down to fishing harbors for blessings of the sea. Many French take their grandes vacances around this date, so beaches, mountains, and countryside gîtes are at peak capacity. Long lunches of seafood or grilled meats stretch into evenings lit by fireworks and village fêtes, marking summer’s spiritual and social high point.

All Saints’ Day (1 November, Toussaint) is a national day of remembrance. Families visit cemeteries, cleaning tombs and covering them with chrysanthemums, the flower of mourning in France. The holiday coincides with the autumn school break, making it a time for quiet family reunions and countryside walks through vineyards in golden colors. Churches celebrate Mass for the dead, and museums and cultural venues often open with special Toussaint programs.

Armistice Day (11 November) marks the 1918 ceasefire ending World War I. At 11 a.m., sirens and church bells ring across France. The President again leads a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, honoring the fallen of both world wars and later conflicts. Children often read out names of local soldiers who died, linking memory across generations. The symbols of the day are the red poppy, shared with the Commonwealth, and the bleuet (cornflower), uniquely French as a sign of hope and solidarity.

Christmas Day (25 December, Noël) blends sacred and secular traditions. Midnight Mass is celebrated in cathedrals from Notre-Dame de Paris to village chapels. In Alsace and Lorraine, Christmas markets glow with mulled wine and bredele biscuits; in Provence, families set out elaborate santon nativity scenes and follow the Gros Souper with its Thirteen Desserts, from nougat to dried figs. In Brittany, crêpes join oyster and seafood platters on festive tables. Children wake to gifts from Père Noël, and afternoons are filled with winter walks or games of family board classics.

St. Stephen’s Day (26 December, Saint-Étienne) is a public holiday only in Alsace–Moselle. It reflects the region’s unique legal history, with church services and family visits extending the Christmas season. In the rest of France it is a normal working day.