Réveillons: Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve Feasts

French people enjoy getting together with family or friends to celebrate Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve with a festive dinner called le réveillon. This is a time of year that involves a lot of eating and feasting! What is the French traditional holiday fare? Let's find out what these réveillons entail, and what French people do to recover from these eating marathons afterwards.

Le réveillon (from the word réveil, "waking") is a dinner party that takes place twice a year, on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Usually prepared at home, such meals require much thought and preparation, which is why most people choose to stick to traditional fare:

Pour réussir son réveillon il y a ceux qui misent sur la tradition...

To make one's Christmas Eve dinner a success, there are those who rely on tradition...

Captions 1-2, Réveillon de Noël Que mange-t-on lors de ce repas?

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In addition to the noun réveillon, there is even a special verb, réveillonner (to have a Christmas or New Year's Eve party). Even the lonely sailors in the video below like to réveillonner:

La solitude n'a pas empêché les marins de réveillonner.

Solitude hasn't kept the sailors from having a Christmas party.

Caption 8, Le Journal Les navigateurs du Vendée Globe - Part 3

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A réveillon usually starts with the traditional appetizer of huîtres (oysters, served raw with a squeeze of lemon):

Voilà avec une bûche [de Noël] à la fin, et en entrée des huîtres.

That's it, with a [Yule] log at the end, and oysters as appetizers.

Captions 4-5, Réveillon de Noël Que mange-t-on lors de ce repas?

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(Notice that une entrée is an appetizer in French, not a main course.)

Les huîtres may be followed by such traditional fare as foie gras (goose liver pâté) and/or crustacés ("crustaceans," as in a seafood platter):

Les grands classiques de cette fête, foie gras et crustacés

The great classics of this holiday, foie gras and crustaceans

Caption 2, TLT Toulouse Noël: Les fêtes approchent!

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Then comes the main course (le plat principal). The familiar dinde aux marrons (turkey with chestnut stuffing) is an all-time favorite, although some people might find it boring and crave a change:

La dinde aux marrons, ça me fatigue parce que tout le monde fait de la dinde de marron.

Turkey with chestnut stuffing, I am tired of it because everyone cooks turkey with chestnut stuffing.

Caption 4, TLT Toulouse Noël: Les fêtes approchent!

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Chapon farci (stuffed capon) is another classic main course in a réveillon:

On va avoir du chapon farci

We're going to have stuffed capon

Caption 3, Réveillon de Noël Que mange-t-on lors de ce repas?

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However, some people like to depart from tradition and add a modern twist:

On peut sortir des sentiers battus tout en conservant des produits traditionnels : chapon tikka masala, foie gras au samoussa ou vice versa.

We can get off the beaten track while keeping traditional products: capon tikka masala, foie gras samosa, or vice versa.

Captions 8-9, TLT Toulouse Noël: Les fêtes approchent!

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Those who feel a little ambitious might try un bœuf en croûte (crusted roast beef, or beef Wellington):

Ensuite en plat, un bœuf en croûte au foie gras

Then for the main dish, a crusted roast beef with foie gras

Caption 8, Réveillon de Noël Que mange-t-on lors de ce repas?

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Alternatively, one can always fall back on yet another holiday classic, boudin blanc (white sausage), which this butcher likes to showcase at his shop:

...les ingrédients classiques comme le boudin blanc sont mis à l'honneur.

...classic ingredients like white sausage are showcased.

Caption 19, Réveillon de Noël Que mange-t-on lors de ce repas?

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Finally, for dessert, there is the all-time favorite, la bûche de Noël (Yule log):

Voilà avec une bûche [de Noël] à la fin...

That's it, with a [Yule] log at the end...

Caption 4, Réveillon de Noël Que mange-t-on lors de ce repas?

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In addition to the delicious dishes mentioned earlier, French celebratory meals always include one or two cooked vegetables, a green salad, and a cheese platter. If this abundance of food seems too much for you, you are not alone… In the video below, Sophie and Patrice are starting to feel like une grosse dinde (a fat turkey) themselves! As they say, you are what you eat:

On est ce qu'on mange. Là je suis donc un gâteau, du vin... une grosse bûche... -Une grosse... grosse bûche... une dinde énorme... trois tonnes de saumon...

We are what we eat. So here I'm a cake, some wine... A fat Yule log... -A fat... fat Yule log... a huge turkey... three tons of salmon...

Captions 23-27, Sophie et Patrice Après le réveillon

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Moi, je suis du foie gras. Un gros foie gras. Quelle horreur. J'en mangerai plus.

Me, I'm foie gras. A big foie gras. How awful. I won't eat any more of it. 

Captions 28-31, Sophie et Patrice Après le réveillon

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After so much indulgence, French people tend to crave lighter, healthier food like une bonne soupe (a nice soup). People also like to pace themselves and try to eat healthy in between réveillons:

On essaye de manger un peu plus de légumes verts... bon des soupes et voilà.

We try to eat a few more green vegetables... well, soups, and that's it.

Caption 4, TV Vendée Fêtes de fin d’année : manger léger et équilibré

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If the mention of these delicious dishes whetted your appetite, feel free to browse through Yabla's Christmas and cooking videos. Stay tuned for a new culinary experience in a future lesson!

Bon appétit!