17 June 2012

Fête des Limaces - Broom and Rose Petals



Before the candlelit procession, the village is festooned with broom:  in alleyways, on doors, in the main square.  And in many places, rose petals are scattered.  In the last photo a heart is created from rose petals at the entrance to the church.

The word 'limace' confused me. If you look it up in the dictionary it translates as 'slug,' and yet the village is filled with snail shells and we all know that the French for a snail is an escargot.  So why is this called the Fete de Limaces and not the Fete des Escargots? My neighbour, Agnes, explained.  In Provençal the word for "snail" is "limaça" and was translated into French as 'limace.'



Tomorrow - the Penitents Blancs.


~~~~~


Avant la procession aux flambeaux, le village est décoré avec des genêts: dans les ruelles, sur les portes, sur la place. Et dans de nombreux endroits, des pétales de rose sont dispersés. Dans la dernière photo on a formé un cœur avec de pétales de rose à l'entrée de l'église.

Pourquoi dit-on la Fête des Limaces et non pas la Fête des escargots?  Agnès ma voisine m' a expliqué qu'en provençal le mot pour "escargot " se dit " limaça » et on  a été traduit simplement en français par "Fête des Limaces."


Demain - les Pénitents Blancs.



6 comments:

  1. I'm enjoying this beautiful series, Jilly. This sounds like one of the most romantic and beautiful festivals yet!

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  2. Petra, Probably my favourite but certainly the most difficult to photograph. When all the lights of the village are turned off and the only light being tiny candles, it's a lot to ask of a camera. You'll see those pics soon - better than I've taken before but 'can do better' as teacher might have said. You'd love this Fete. Plan on coming over in June one year!

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  3. You are just the photographer to get it right, Jilly. Can't wait to see it.

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  4. Beautiful, Jilly. The first image is perfect. What a place!

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  5. This is beautiful Jilly . It is wonderful to see the story unfold through your posts. Especially love the first image.

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