THIS year, spending Christmas in France can definitely be cold as forecasters have warned of temperatures as low as -5 degrees Celsius. However, don’t let that hamper your vacation and dampen your Christmas mood as France is said to be the most romantic place in the world. Therefore, it is just appropriate to say that it is also one of the sweetest places on Earth to celebrate the birth anniversary of whom Christians call the Messiah.

The Christians are not only the people who are celebrating the season though. There are a few Jewish communities in France and they are also celebrating Hannukah or the Festival of Lights. Hannukah is said to commemorate the win of the Maccabees against their oppressor King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. And also remember that it’s not just the Christians who celebrate New Year here. Even the agnostics, the atheists as well as the Shinto and the Confucianism believers are also celebrating January 1 as the traditional New Year’s Day although understandably so, the Confucian believers and the Muslims have their own liturgical calendars. And there are a lot of minorities here in France, including those that are mentioned earlier. Also, there are a lot of Spanish visitors here in France who is stuck during the Christmas season. Actually, they intentionally stick themselves here. Of course, Spain is lovely but what is even lovelier than spending quality time in another country during Christmas.

The majority of the folks here are Catholics and so there are a lot of Catholic celebrations here during the Christmas season. The most famous Catholic Church in France is located at the nation’s capital in Paris which is a landlocked city. Despite it’s understandably lack of beaches, Paris is beaming in the lights during Christmas season. That includes the Notre Dame Cathedral, the most famous Catholic Church in Paris which has been the subject of many novels and even spawned a children’s book and an animated children’s movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Another Catholic Church worth visiting in Paris is the one named after the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. It is a very unassuming small chapel yet it swells with pilgrims from various Christian countries – including New Zealand and Tonga – especially during the Christmas season.

But if what you want to see is more on the glittering lights, then simply tour Paris. All the structures have glittering lights on them, including Champs Elysees, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, among others. And if what you want is a shopping binge, make sure you have lots of cash in tow. Yet again, even if you have lots of money with you, it is suggested that you take advantage at the lots of discounts retailers in France are offering during Christmas season. It’s the French people’s way of saying thanks to all who have patronized shopping in their country. From duty-free shops to the malls, from garage sales to French online stores, bargain hunting is virtually everywhere. There are even Santa Clauses roaming around malls to emphasize this point.

THIS early, reserve now for your Christmas vacation in France. The arrivals queue at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle International Airport will surely be long as tourists from all over the world go to Paris to celebrate Christmas. Every country in the world offers its employees a two-week vacation and it’s nice to spend that period here in France. After all, France is a predominantly Catholic country and it’s so heartwarming to be in the cathedrals to pray and celebrate the birth of Messiah.

For those who are not used to Europe, don’t be surprised that cathedrals there, especially Notre Dame Cathedral, are decorated with eerie designs. That is called Gothic architecture and these cathedrals have been built way back during the Middle Ages at the height of the Crusades and at the height of when France became a Christian nation. To lure the natives into Catholicism, the archbishops during those time inculcated native culture in their preaching.

And so Gothic-inspired designs were embedded in the cathedrals during that time. Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is one of them and today, it is an instant tourist magnet the world over. Every nine dawns preceding before Christmas Eve, Notre Dame is site to Holy Masses commemorating the vigil of the birth of Christ. And prior to that or about four weeks before December 25, they celebrate Advent here.

If you’re a tourist and you want to visit these churches, then you may find some street side eateries beside these cathedrals selling hearty breakfasts. These breakfasts of hot cocoa and baguettes serve as one’s energy nutrition to sustain him all morning long as a typical French person then jogs his way home after consuming the hearty breakfast. If one is a tourist and he or she enters these Masses, then you will find a breakfast in bed waiting for you at your hotel room.

Hotel breakfasts tend to be more expensive so it’s better to eat at those eateries that are mentioned earlier. After all, that’s what authentic French cuisine is all about – food that is served to the real French masses. The rest of the tourists are not interested in urban areas such as Paris though. Altogether, they troop to the French Alps where people spend winter leisure activities such as skiing, dog sled races, ice skating, mountain biking and horse riding. Temperatures here tend to go down at -3 degrees Celsius so be wary of what you’re wearing.

Make sure to have layers and layers of clothing in your body. Your outerwear will then become your underwear. Just be sure not to don any fiber which is cottony because cotton tends to absorb moisture. But once you’re inside your mountain cabin, you will be amazed at the amenities it offers. There’s a heater and then some. There will even be satellite television and high speed wireless and wired Internet connection. Mountain cabins near the Alps are either for sale or for rent. So what are you waiting for? Reserve your winter flight and hotel tickets in France now.