Traditions and practices

Each country has its own traditions and in many cases has been passed on for generations from person to person. Some habits have given way to modernity, others well-established and continue to be part of our French culture.

Butter making by churning

The traditional wooden churn in barrel-shaped was a frequent model on the farms of Picardy and still relevant at the beginning of the 20th century. It allowed to turn the cream of milk into butter after many turns of the crank.

Making butter was an art, this stage of churning was to isolate the fat particles from the liquid, buttermilk. The butter was then washed, kneaded and then divided into tub of butter. The wood brought a specific aroma to the butter. The butter was made after the milking the cows.

The dimensions of the wooden churn were variable, of medium size or much larger. We can still see some models in Picardy, often transformed in decorative object.

This reasonably sized model is the one showed in the museum of the ancient trades of Naours village.

Mother's Day

The mother's day is celebrated in France, the last Sunday of May (sometimes at the beginning of June due to the Pentecost).

A ceremony in honour of the Mothers has been organised the first time, the June 10th, 1906, to Artas a village of Isère (near Lyon city), at the initiative of M. Proser Roche, teacher.

The Lyon city organised a ceremony for the mothers who has lost theirs sons during the war on 16th June 1918. This feast, was spread then, anywhere in France. This day was fixed definitely in the Calendar in 1950.

For this event, in the school the children do some drawings, writes a poetry on the card, handmade a small gifts and they can give some flowers to their moms, too.

Christmas crib

The first Christmas crib date back to the 13th century. The nativity scene is presented in living creche in the churches.

The christmas crib with figurines characters were created several years later. The creche in the homes appear to the 17th century, in the wealthy families in particular in Italy, and is developed until the 18th century.

The child Jesus is in the barn, he is laying on the hay bed, between the beef and the donkey. Balthazar wears the gold, Melchior the Myrrh and Gaspard incense.