What to do in the PACA region in December?

In brief

• The Provençal Christmas season opens on 4 December, on Saint Barbara’s Day (the Sainte-Barbe), and lasts until Candlemas.
• Christmas markets, santon fairs and nativity scenes throughout the region.
• On the evening of the 24th: the gros souper (big supper), the thirteen desserts and traditional midnight masses.
• The resorts of the Southern Alps generally open between late November and the first half of December.
• Two weeks of Christmas school holidays, the same for all zones: book early.

The weather in December

December is cool and often bright. According to the Météo-France 1991-2020 normals, Nice remains the mildest, with an average high of 14.1 °C and an average low of 6.6 °C. In Marseille (Marignane station), it is 12.4 °C in the afternoon and 4.4 °C in the morning. On mistral days, the sky is an intense blue, but the wind makes the air feel much colder than it looks.

Rainfall drops sharply after the autumn: an average of 40.9 mm in Marseille, on fewer than five days of rain, and 90.3 mm in Nice, over six days. The season of Mediterranean episodes, which Météo-France places up to mid-December, is not quite over at the start of the month, however.

In the mountains, it’s winter. In Embrun (873 m), the average high is only 7.4 °C, the average low drops to -1.6 °C, and there are on average 20.9 days of frost in the month. Snow determines when the resorts open and the state of the roads.

Christmas traditions in Provence

In Provence, Christmas is about much more than 25 December. The temps calendal (Christmas season) stretches from Saint Barbara’s Day, on 4 December, to Candlemas, on 2 February. To discover all these Christmas traditions, here are the month’s highlights.

Saint Barbara’s wheat. On 4 December, wheat, sometimes lentils, is sown in three small saucers lined with damp cotton wool. If the shoots are nice and green at Christmas, the year will be a good one. The saucers then decorate the nativity scene and the Christmas Eve table.

The nativity scene and its santons. Families set it up in the first days of December. Around the stable, the clay santons bring a Provençal village to life: the miller, the fishwife, the shepherd, the fisherman.

The gros souper and the thirteen desserts. On the evening of 24 December, before midnight mass, the gros souper brings the family together for a meatless meal of seven dishes, on a table covered with three white tablecloths, with three candles and the saucers of wheat, in remembrance of the Trinity. Then come the thirteen desserts, which represent Christ and his twelve apostles: pompe à l’huile (olive oil bread), white and black nougat, dates, the “four beggars” (dried figs, raisins, almonds, hazelnuts), fresh fruit and quince paste, all served with vin cuit (a sweet cooked wine). According to Marseille tradition, they stay on the table for three days.

The pastorales. These popular plays, often performed in Provençal, tell the story of the Nativity in a village setting. The most famous, the Pastorale Maurel, dates from 1844. Performances take place mainly after Christmas, from late December into January, and the theatres quickly sell out.

December’s major events

Santon fairs. In Marseille, the Foire aux santons, created in 1803, is held on the quai du Port, at the Vieux-Port (Old Port), until early January. In Aubagne, the santon and ceramics market fills the cours Foch until the end of December. In Arles, the Salon international des santonniers (international santon makers’ show) can be visited until mid-January.

Christmas markets. In Aix-en-Provence, some fifty chalets line the cours Mirabeau until 31 December. In Nice, the Christmas Village brings the Jardin Albert-Ier and the place Masséna to life until early January, with a merry-go-round and food stalls.

The Lucéram nativity trail. In the hills behind Nice, the village of Lucéram displays around 450 nativity scenes, made by the villagers, along a trail through the village, from 1 December to early January.

Christmas Eve vigils on 24 December. In Les Baux-de-Provence, the midnight mass celebrated in the church of Saint-Vincent is accompanied by the pastrage, the shepherds’ offering before the nativity scene. In Allauch, near Marseille, the torchlit descent of the shepherds with their sheep has kept a very popular procession alive for more than 80 years.

Where to go in December

Marseille and the Pays d’Aubagne, to tour the santon makers and put together your own nativity scene, with a stop at the Vieux-Port.

Aix-en-Provence, for its Christmas market on the cours Mirabeau and its illuminated old streets.

The Alpilles, around Les Baux-de-Provence, which is also home to a santon museum, and mills where you can still taste oil from the harvest.

The hills behind Nice, from Lucéram to the hilltop villages, for a more intimate Christmas than in town.

The ski resorts. Montgenèvre, in the Hautes-Alpes, often opens as early as late November. Most of the other big resorts in the Southern Alps, such as Serre Chevalier, Vars, Les Orres or, in the Alpes-Maritimes, Auron and Isola 2000, in the municipality of Isola, generally launch their season in early December, snow permitting.

Ideas for days out

With the family. The santon-modelling workshops and donkey rides at the Marseille fair, the merry-go-round at the Nice Christmas Village or a first day of sledging at a resort.

When the weather is bad. Museums, churches adorned with large nativity scenes and a pastorale performance, to be booked in advance.

When the sun is out. Mistral days, cold but clear, offer the finest views over the calanques and the peaks. Bring warm clothes: night falls early, around the winter solstice, on about 21 December.

What to eat in December

December is the month of the thirteen desserts: pompe à l’huile, nougat, dried fruit and vin cuit can be found at every market. It is also the height of the black truffle season: the Richerenches market, in the Vaucluse, opens on a Saturday with the Ban des truffes (official opening of the truffle season), led by the Confrérie du Diamant noir (Black Diamond brotherhood), most often in early December. Aups, in the Var, holds its market on Thursday mornings. In Carpentras, the Friday morning market resumes depending on the harvest, in some years only in January. New-season olive oil, pressed in November and December, completes the Christmas Eve table.

Good to know

• Public holiday and school holidays. 25 December is a public holiday. The Christmas holidays last two weeks and are the same in all zones, including zone B: book resorts, gîtes (holiday cottages) and Christmas Eve restaurants early.
• Mountain roads. From 1 November to 31 March, in the mountain municipalities designated by prefectoral order, you need four winter tyres or chains (or snow socks) on board. The summit road of Mont Ventoux is closed in winter beyond Mont Serein and the Chalet Reynard.
• Weather. Check the Météo-France warnings before every journey: intense rain at the start of the month, snow and black ice in the mountains. Never drive onto a flooded road.
• Holiday opening hours. On 24 and 31 December, Christmas markets and villages often close earlier: check before you travel.