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Search RuthAndJohn.com NOTE: click on the link then put your search words inside the quotes on Google
NOTE: Some of the links are to articles which are in French. Just right-click on the linked web page and select "translate". If you have any trouble with that please let me know and I will send you a translation.
New Year's wishes to you from our babies. All three are now very calm during fireworks noises. They notice the sounds but
at 2 1/2 years the kit-kats have long since stopped hiding. BTW - did you know that French landlords can't ban pets? Stipulating
any prohibition against pets in a lease is illegal! The French really adore their companion animals.
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Christmas in Rennes
This year Christmas lights in France were on for only a few hours each day because of the energy shortage.
The Rennes Christmas Parade takes place for four days each year in mid-December. Many other Christmas events take place throughout the
month with fun and beautiful decorations for kid and adults. Last year the main characters were giant marionette
polar bears. This year they were giant white marionette reindeer.
Place du Parlement de Bretagne is decked out for Christmas every year. The little chalets of the Christmas village near the
Parliament building provide food and drinks. A more expansive Christmas market that
sells gifts, toys, shawls, art and more in addition to food and drinks is the Marché de Noël Mail François Mitterrand
and there are several other small Christmas markets in Rennes.
The largest market in Rennes (and second largest in France) is the Marché des Lices. The atmosphere
is festive with individual musicians, flower sellers, art vendors and a many stalls and
buildings housing a huge variety of foods. On Christmas Eve John
and I visited Marché des Lices to gather prepared elements for our Christmas dinner including main dishes,
sides and deserts and it was all so very tasty. Have you heard? The French know how to cook. The Lices Saturday Market
has not missed a market day in 400 years.
This week at the Rennes Opera House we will see young opera singers compete. The winners will
move on to the national competition in Paris in early October this year.
Carousels and Ferris Wheels are ubiquitous in winter in France and other parts of Europe. Lots of little kids' laughter is part of that scene. A very friendly Motorcycle
Santa Claus pulled up and posed for photos for us.
Each year, for the Christmas holidays, the company Spectaculaires - Allumeurs d'images stages a projection mapping animation show
against the facade of the Town Hall. For the end of 2022, the monument is transformed into a "Christmas Jukebox" and invites the
public to sing Christmas songs in many languages and to varied rhythms. Each style of music had its own projected animation. The show was fun
and beautiful and only a little weird. A few of the shows in past years seemed quite weird.
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| The Rennes Christmas Parade |
Place du Parlement de Bretagne decked out for Christmas. |
The little chalets of the Christmas village provide food and drinks. |
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| The churros were popular. |
The lights were on for only a few hours because of the energy shortage. |
We've seen these log reindeer in previous years. |
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| The tallest Christmas tree in Rennes. | For letters to Father Christmas. | A log train for little ones to play in. |
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| The end of the log train. | A very friendly Motorcycle Santa Claus. | The Rennes Opera House |
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| The French like their carousels. | Another view of the Rennes Opera House. | The light show against the City Hall begins. |
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The theme this year was different styles of Christmas music. |
Each style of music had its own animation. | |
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| 14th Century Couvent des Jacobins | Side entrance to Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle in Rennes | |
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| A second carousel at Saint Anne square. | Marché des Lices | Busy market day. Marché des Lices has not missed a market day in 400 years. |
Christmas in Paris
Christmas in Paris is similar to Christmas in Rennes but on a much larger and much more expansive
scale. Rennes has two locations for video
projection mapping. Paris has at least a half dozen video mapping locations during the winter holidays.
New Year's Eve in Paris
One million people gathered on the Champs-Elysées to celebrate the transition from 2022 to 2023,
after two years of cancellations linked to Covid, and to watch the fireworks at L'Arc de Triomphe.
Listen to a lovely French version of Auld Lang Syne - Chant des adieux (Song of Good Byes)
New Year's Eve in Rennes
John and I stayed home for New Year's Eve. I rang in the New Year via zoom with a couple of my STEM atheist friends
from Oregon, Jeanine and Alicia. I knew and liked both of them through the years of our participating in the STEM
klatches which Dana started, organized and moderated but it wasn't until after he died in October that we became close as we
worked together to determine what needed to be done legally, ethically and with kindness to those touched by his death. The
situation called for us to first find and notify his family and friends and then proceed from there (especially Alicia).
During our New Year's Eve zoom meet Jeanine commented that Dana gave us the gift of our friendship. After some discussion we
decided to nurture our friendship with frequent contacts going forward (starting with birthday zoom meets over the next few months).
Thank you dear Dana for your gifts of new close friends and a new tradition.
Religion in France
France has 7 of 12 national holidays that are Catholic plus 1 more Christian holiday. Nonetheless French government officials think
France is strictly secular. Using the pretext of strict laicity, France's right-wing Catholics (many who are in government) disingenuously fight Muslims' religious practices - even
their very existence in France. The situation for atheists here is reasonably safe and fairly comfortable but the religious right
(local non practicing Catholics, with assistance from other far right religious zealots in the US and Russia) are dangerous
to religious minorities and those who speak up for them.
Beginning January 2023 New From Social Security Department In France. Right-click article to translate.
Help for parents
Single-parent families will now receive financial assistance for childcare until the child is 12 years old -
and no longer only up to 6 years old. The minimum alimony paid to them by the CAF in the event of default by the other parent,
the family support allowance (ASF), has been increased by 50% , from 123 to 185 euros per month and per child.
Sexual health
From January 1, 2023, the morning after pill - which can be taken no later than 3 to 5 days depending on the type of
pill after sex at risk of pregnancy - will become free for all women without a prescription, regardless of their age.
The pills can be obtained in pharmacies, from school nurses for middle school and high school girls, in university or
inter-university services for preventive medicine and health for students, in sexual health centres, Family Planning,
free centers for information, screening and diagnosis of human immunodeficiency viruses. Social Security will also provide
screening for certain sexually transmitted infections without a prescription for everyone and free of charge for those under 26.
COVID and China
China uses vaccinations that are far less effective than the ones we use, and the elderly in China are vaccinated at a much
lower rate than in the West. France and several countries have recently mandated testing travellers from China but there are
great disagreements with those policies. So far recent testing of newly arrived Chinese travellers to Italy shows only the omicron variant that's already widespread in Europe.
Italians (and French and almost all Europeans) are well vaccinated against omicron. Many countries have proposed testing of waste water on aircraft
as a much better use of resources. It may well be that China's Covid response is a threat to China's population (because of their vaccination practices and policies)
but not to those of Western countries.