Dear Mom, Hi, how are you? I miss you so much.

I'm doing great here in Lyon, France, I arrived on December 3. The people here are very nice. On my way to my friend Marie's house, I passed some beautiful monuments and landscapes. I was very exhausted from the flight so I went straight to sleep that day. On December 4 I took the train down to Paris. There I bought a Christmas tree, I brought it back to the house, and Marie and I decorated it with candy, fruit, small toys, and some Christmas decorations. Christmas trees can be found in France, though they are not as popular as in the United States. Can you believe that the Christmas season in France starts on December 6? Dec. 6 is called Saint Nicholas Day. Parents give children their Christmas gifts on Saint Nicholas Day, instead of on Christmas Day. That's so cool. The most popular Christmas symbol over here is the nativity scene, or Christmas Crche. Marie's mother told me it was introduced by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1224, but didn't become popular until the time of the Renaissance. We put up the nativity scene but we put Baby Jesus until the day before Christmas. A couple days before Christmas we went to the store. Marie's mother ordered everything already done that we would need for the big feast. On Christmas Eve, December 24 we went to a mass called the la masse de minuit which starts at midnight. Can you believe people go to mass at midnight! After the mass we went back home for a special dinner called Le Rveillon. Le Rveillon is a symbolic awakening to the meaning of Christ's birth and is the main point of the season. We had raspberry tossed salad, herbed roast beef, roasted root vegetables, and orange chantilly cream. For dessert we had la Buche de Noel which is a spongy cake with butter cream frosting and then you roll it into the shape of a log. It represents the special wood log

that is burned from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day. After Rveillon, we left a candle burning in case the Virgin Mary passes by because it is customary. In France, Santa Claus is called Pre Nol and he brings children gifts on Christmas Eve just like at home. He places small treats and toys in childrens shoes. Later in the night we wished each other a Merry Christmas or Joyeux Noel and hugged each other. Marie reminded me to leave my shoes by the fireplace so that Pre Noel would fill them with gifts. On Christmas Day we woke up to find our shoes filled with all sorts of goodies. In France you also celebrate New Years Eve and New Years Day so we celebrated it. Maries mother cooked a great dinner consisting of turkey and roasted beef. Lastly, the Christmas season ended on January 6, it was a whole month long! On the Twelfth Night which is the day before Epiphany we went to Providence to meet the three kings who were on their way to give Baby Jesus his gifts. We gave the kings food an in return they gave us gifts. In honor of this occasion, Maries mother baked us La Galette des Rois, which is a cake that is cut into pieces and distributed by us, the children. Whoever finds la fve, the charm hidden inside gets to be King or Queen and can choose a partner. Marie found the charm inside but she let me be the Queen for the day since it was my first time ever eating that cake. Overall, I had a great vacation in France. I took many pictures so that you can see what France looks like when I get back. I miss you and Ill be coming back home by January 10. Sincerely,