Thirteen_desserts

Thirteen desserts

Thirteen desserts

Traditional Christmas of Provence.


The thirteen desserts (Occitan: lei tretze dessèrts) are the traditional dessert foods used to celebrate Christmas in the French region of Provence. The "big supper" (le gros souper) ends with a ritual 13 desserts, representing Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles. The desserts always number thirteen but the exact items vary by local or familial tradition.[1] The food traditionally is set out Christmas Eve and remains on the table three days until December 27.[2]

The thirteen desserts in the Provence
Les 13 desserts de la tradition de Noël en Provence

Dried fruit and nuts

The first four of these are known as the "four beggars" (les quatre mendiants), representing the four mendicant monastic orders: Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians and Carmelites.[3]

Fresh fruit

Sweets

French wedding foodways

Bayle St. John, writing in The Purple Tints of Paris (vol. 2) "The dishes are substantial; soup, boiled beef, veal, salad, cheese, apples, and what are called, for some mysterious reason, the four beggars — nuts, figs, almonds, and raisins, mixed together."

See also


References

  1. "The Thirteen Desserts of Christmas - Les Treize Desser". Mama Lisa's World of Children and International Culture.

Media related to Treize desserts de Provence at Wikimedia Commons


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