Féves
Not all Christmas collectibles have to do with solely Christmas traditions. In France, families celebrate Epiphany-La Fête des Rois-on January 6, with a cake called the Galette des Rois, made from puff pastry and filled with an almond paste. Traditionally there's a small porcelain figure known as a féve, usually of a person, such as the baby Jesus, Joseph or Mary, placed in the cake. The first porcelain féves were made in Germany in the 1870s, and as they became popular, many different shapes and types were produced. Since the 1890s the themes have expanded and figures are made from a variety of materials like gold, stainless steel or plastic. At one time, the Limoges-Castel factory produced more than six million féves a year. The person who finds the féve in their slice of cake is crowned king or queen for the day and wears a gold paper crown-it's always sounded to me like a fun custom to adopt.
Christmas pins
People tend to bring out their best sparkling gems for holiday parties, and it's nice to know there's a historical precedent for that habit. Wearing a decorative corsage during the holidays dates back to the 19th century, when women adorned their dresses with pins made up of ribbons, cloth and trinkets. In the 1940s, metal jewellery in the shape of sleighs, wreaths and most notably, Christmas trees, became popular. By 1950, women were sending the latter to American servicemen fighting in Korea to remind them of life back home. The tradition stuck, and Christmas tree pins, typically made from silver- or gold-toned metal and glass beads, are now a hot collecting area.
Nativity figures
A hint of rebellion is enough to add allure to any collectible. Since the 17th century, families have decorated their homes with a crèche of nativity figures, and in 18th-century France,
a small industry started, making characters for the crèche known as santons. During the French Revolution church crèches were banned, but the people of Marseilles, not wanting to lose the tradition, made their own crèches and displayed them to visitors. Early santons were made of wax, but in 1803 the first clay figures were sold at a Christmas fair in Marseilles. They quickly became popular because, although they were not as sophisticated as the wax figures, they were more affordable. The most influential santon maker was probably Louis Lagnel, who mass-produced santons using plaster moulds as early as 1798. Many of his figures are still copied today by artisans around the globe. The figures of the Holy Family, shepherds, kings, angels and animals are joined every year by traditional characters representing Provençal town or country tradespeople: spinners, milkmaids, tambourine players, fishermen, pie sellers, pilgrims and many others.
0 Comment