Anyone who has ever lived outside his home country has asked himself this question: should I celebrate the holidays of my adopted country? Even in this globalization era, the traditions and cultural festivals specific of each country and culture remain so important … We all hold to our home country culture. And there are several reasons for this: – Our home country is where we lived our first memories as children, this blessed time where everything seemed simple and possible Necessarily, by re-celebrating the holidays of our home countries, we recall those happy memories. And it makes us feel happy! – By celebrating these culturally significant holidays for us,…

In France there is a word pronounced several dozen times a day: “Bonjour” (i.e. “Hello”). This preliminary form of politeness is so widespread that one can almost think that it is universal. But it is not.   I read here and there articles written by non-French speaking natives (written especially by English speakers) about the importance of this word and how much its use in France is surprising. Personally I am so used to it that during my first trips outside France (especially to England and the United States) I could not imagine even asking my way without first saying hello. It took me a while to realize that this…

The elf … what? Don you know this “new” Anglo-Saxon Christmas tradition? If not I suggest you have a look at it, because like many other traditions, I bet it will invade us sooner or later. First a little bit of background: this is a Santa’s elf-shaped doll which comes from the North Pole to help Santa establish his “naughty list” and “nice list”. Already, it makes me rise my eyebrows: I have always refused to blackmail Santa Claus to my children, so I don’t like the idea of sending them a spy elf! But let’s pass on this detail … The Elf comes from the North Pole to your…