The Christmas Kalends of Provence and Some Other Provençal Festivals

Fancy you've journeyed down the Rhône, Fancy you've passed Vienne, Valence, Fancy you've skirted Avignon— And so are come en pleine Provence. Fancy a mistral cutting keen Across the sunlit wintry fields, Fancy brown vines, and olives green, And blustered, swaying, cypress shields. Fancy a widely opened door, Fancy an eager outstretched hand, Fancy—nor need you ask for more— A heart-sped welcome to our land. Fancy the peal of Christmas chimes, Fancy that some long-buried year Is born again of ancient times— And in Provence take Christmas cheer! In my own case, this journey and this welcome were not fancies but realities. I had come to keep Christmas with my old friend Monsieur de Vièlmur according to the traditional Provençal rites and ceremonies in his own entirely Provençal home: an ancient dwelling which stands high up on the westward slope of the Alpilles, overlooking Arles and Tarascon and within sight of Avignon, near the Rhône margin of Provence.