It’s high time that I should write another post – but first I’d like to wish you all bonne année – happy new year!! In France, we can wish one another a happy new year until the end of January, and there is much of that going on right now all over the country!
It is customary to exchange wishes whenever one first meets a relative, friend, neighbour or acquaintance in the new year. Usually the meilleurs vœux (best wishes) are accompanied by bonne santé (good health), since good health is one of the most precious things in life.
Most of the time you’d kiss the person you are exchanging wishes with – even if you don’t usually kiss them during the rest of the year: one kiss on the right and another on the left cheek, to go with the wishes.
Daffodils flowering in January in Saint-Chinian – a welcome sight in the new year!
Then there are the official vœux – in a lot of villages there are ceremonies which are organised by the town councils, where the mayor and the councillors wish the inhabitants a happy new year, and talk about their plans and projects for the coming year. And of course there will be drinks and nibbles after the official speeches! In Saint-Chinian, this ceremony is on the day I am writing this post.
A new year offers all kinds of opportunities. My resolution was to start up my daily yoga practice, and so far I’ve been able to stick with it. It’s not always easy to find the time, but where there’s a will there’s a spare half hour or so!! 🙂 And the benefits are great!!
My main new year’s goal – and the reason for the slightly longer-than-planned break from blogging – was the re-design and re-launch of my German language website. If you’re curious, you can find it here. It’s been interesting work and I’ve had fun re-doing that website, but I’m glad that I’ve more or less completed it now!
I hope you’ve had a great start to the new year!! Have you made any new year’s resolutions? And if you did, have you managed to keep them??
I leave you with a picture of some mimosa blossoms. The trees in and around Saint-Chinian have started to flower already – another beautiful welcome to the new year from mother nature!!
Mimosa blossoms in Saint-Chinian
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