Christmas in France: Père Noël

In France children receive their Christmas gifts from Père Noël, or "Father Christmas.” French folklore depicts Père Noël as a solemn old man with a white beard. He wears a long, hooded, red robe trimmed with white fur. He resembles England’s Father Christmas and Germany’s Weihnachtsmann. In the weeks before Christmas many French children write letters to Père Noël describing the gifts they would like to receive (see also children’s letters). They mail these letters to the North Pole.