Le jour de la Saint-Valentin


Je t'aime, tu m'aimes, il m'aime. Vous l'aimez…

bref tout le monde s'aime… Ah ! C'est beau l'amour !

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« Je t'envoie mon cœur dans un baiser. »
        Anatole France

« Voici mon cœur qui ne bat que pour vous. »
        Paul Verlaine

« Un baiser, qu'est-ce ? Un serment fait d'un peu plus près, un aveu qui veut se confirmer, un point rose qu'on met sur l'i du verbe aimer ; c'est un secret qui prend la bouche pour oreille. »
        Edmond Rostand – Cyrano de Bergerac

It's not for nothing that French is known as the language of love. There's something simply beautiful about the very sound of French and so it seems appropriate to have a few French quotations or poems for Valentine's Day. Can you figure this one out?

Mon premier est la première personne du singulier.
Mon deuxième se trouve dans le conduit d’une cheminée.
Mon troisième un homme dans un asile.
Mon quatrième n’est pas tout seul.
Mon cinquième nous protège de la pluie.
Mon tout est une réalité.

And to help you out as you craft that perfect billet doux, a few useful phrases:

Je t'aime – I love you
Mon amour – My love
(Mon) chéri – Sweetheart, my dear (talking to a man)
(Ma) chérie – Sweetheart, my dear (talking to a woman)
Je suis amoureux de toi – I'm in love with you (man talking)
Je suis amoureuse de toi – I'm in love with you (woman talking)

Je t'aime bien – I like you (because sometimes you have to let someone down gently)

Un coup de foudre – Love at first sight
Le grand amour – True love

(Remember! In "le grand amour" the "d" is followed immediately by a vowel and this means that it will be pronounced like a "t" when you make your liaison. "Le grant-amour.")

Looking for a song for Valentine's day? Why not revisit these Carla Bruni songs?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Making a List, Checking it Twice…

Have you been naughty? Or nice? Le Père Fouettard makes this question far more important than it might usually seem to American boys and girls and I think he deserves his own post.

 Le Père Fouettard (literally, the “Whipping Father”) is a character who accompanies le saint Nicolas on his rounds during la Saint-Nicolas (December 5/6). While le saint Nicolas hands out presents to all the good boys and girls (les enfants sages), le Père Fouettard deals with the brats and rascals. Since you know what his name means I think you can guess how he deals with the children on the “naughty” list. Yikes! Now, aren’t you glad that we just have the Grinch?

 Some dictionaries translate le Père Fouettard as “the Bogeyman”. There is no set English translation since  he doesn’t really exist in English tradition.

Some important vocabulary:
Sage = well-behaved
Un fouet = a whip
Donner un coup de fouet à qqn = to lash or to whip someone
Fouetter = to whip

Check out the article on le Père Fouettard at the French Wikipedia! (Wikipédia.) I warn you though, that if you read much about the character you will stumble across some pretty gruesome tales. This isn’t Christmas like Grandma told it!

Pere Fouettard Noel
(Image courtesy Wikipedia.)

le Vocabulaire de Noël – les adjectifs

Let's round out our Christmas vocabulary with some adjectives:

Argenté(e)                         Silvery

      – en argent                            made of silver

Beau/belle                         Handsome/beautiful

Blanc(he)                           White

Bleu(e)                                  Blue

Calme                                    Calm

Chargé(e)                            Busy (day/week)

Chaud(e)                             Hot

Doré(e)                                 Golden

      – en or                                     made of gold

Enjoué(e)                            Jolly

Enneigé(e)                         Snowy

Froid(e)                                Cold

Gelé(e)                                  Frozen

Heureux/heureuse      Happy

Mouvementé(e)             Hectic

Rouge                                     Red

Scintillant(e)                    Twinkling

Stressant(e)                       Stressful

Stressé(e)                            Stressed

Tranquille                          Peaceful

Vert(e)                                   Green

 

Paris France Snow Winter Eiffel Tower

 

le Vocabulaire de Noël – les verbes

Verbs bring a language to life. If our choice of verbs is limited, our expressions will be stilted. Just think of the difference between:

-He dashed.
–He ran quickly.

-She sobbed.
–She cried loudly.

Or even the difference between:
-She screamed,
-She screeched,
-She yelled,
-She hollered,
-She cried,
-She blurted,
-She whooped, &
-She cheered.

Verbs are important. Despite this, most Christmas vocab lists that I see neglect the verbs. Christmas isn't just about the nouns. Here's my list of Christmas verbs. Did I miss anything crucial?

 

Acheter                               to buy

Adorer                                 to worship

Boire                                     to drink

Chanter                              to sing

Déballer                             to unwrap

Dormir                               to sleep

Emballer                           to wrap

Faire les magasins      to shop

Fêter                                     to celebrate

Fondre                                to melt

Manger                               to eat

Naître                                  to be born

Neiger                                 to snow

Offrir                                   to give

Ouvrir                                to open

Recevoir                           to receive

Scintiller                          to twinkle

Se réveiller                     to wake up

Sonner                               to ring

Voler                                   to fly

 

le Vocabulaire de Noël

la lumière                                               light

la myrrhe                                                myrrh

la neige                                                      snow

la veille de Noël                                  Christmas Eve

le gui                                                           mistletoe

le houx                                                       holly

le lait de poule alcoolisé                eggnog

le Noël                                                        Christmas

le papier cadeau                                  wrapping paper

le Père Fouettard                                The Whipping Father

le Père Noël                                             Father Christmas

le pôle Nord                                            The North Pole

le ruban                                                     Ribbon

le Saint-Nicolas                                   Saint Nicholas

l’encens (m)                                           frankincense

l’or (m)                                                      gold

un âne                                                        donkey

un ange                                                     angel

un atelier                                                 workshop

un bébé                                                     baby

un berger                                                 shepherd

un biscuit                                                cookie

un bonbon                                              candy

un bonhomme de neige                snowman

un cadeau                                                gift

un calendrier de l’Avent               Advent calendar

un cantique de Noël                         Christmas Carol

un chameau                                           camel

un chant de Noël                                Christmas Carol

un feu                                                         fire

un flocon de neige                             snowflake

un jouet                                                     toy

un lutin                                                      elf

un mage                                                     magi, Wiseman

un renne                                                    reindeer

un sapin de Noël                                  Christmas tree

un traîneau                                             sleigh

une bataille de boules de neige snowball fight

une bougie                                               candle

une boule de neige                             snowball

une balle de neige (Canada)        snowball

une bûche de Noël                             Yule log

une châtaigne                                       chestnut

une cloche                                               bell

une crèche                                              manger

une étoile                                                 star

une guirlande                                       garland, wreath

une oie                                                       goose

une prime de fin d’année            Christmas bonus

une souris                                               mouse

  Paris, France, Snow, Lamp Post, Eiffel Tower, Winter