Holidays
Night from December 24 to 25 — Christmas (Catholic).
December 31 — New Year’s Eve and St. Sylvester’s Day.
January 6 — Epiphany or “Three Kings’ Day.”
February 2 — Candlemas.
March 8 — International Women’s Day.
May 1 — Labor Day and Lily of the Valley Day.
May 8 — Victory Day over Fascism.
June 21 — Music Day, celebrated on the summer solstice.
July 14 — Bastille Day.
August 15 — Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
November 1 — All Saints’ Day.
November 11 — Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I.
Festivals
March — International Grandmothers’ Day and Francophonie Day.
May — Snail Carnival (May 1), Cannes Film Festival (held annually in Cannes at the end of May), “European Night of Museums,” and the Feast Day of Saint Joan of Arc, France’s heavenly patroness (May 30).
June — Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, during the last full week of June.
July — Avignon Theatre Festival, Medieval Festival in Carcassonne, International Jazz Festival in Juan-les-Pins, and the Music Festival in Colmar.
September — International Puppet Theatre Festival in Charleville.
October — Reading Festival (October 16), Chestnut Festival (second half of the month), and various food festivals — sauerkraut, cider, spices, and fish.
November — “Antiques Fair” in Toulouse, “Chocolate Fair” in Paris, and the Christmas Lights Ceremony on the Champs-Élysées at the end of the month.