The French Festival Of Lights In LyonThe Festival of Lights in Lyon is a century and a half-old tradition, in which Lyonnais honor the Blessed Virgin Mary by placing candle lamps in windows of their homes. The occasion is made special by the fact that it comes very close to the Christmas season (although it really does not have any connection with Christmas), making people feel like the holidays have already set in. Actually, December 8 was not the intended date of the first holding of this "lighting" ceremony. Based on historical accounts, the religious leaders of Lyon organized in 1850 a statue-making contest. The statue to be made was that of the Virgin Mary, with the winning sculpture to be put up atop the Fourvière hill. The winning sculpture was scheduled for unveiling a couple years later on the date the birth of the Virgin Mary is observed - September 8. Unfortunately on that day, the Saône river overflowed, flooding the entire area. Because of this, the organizers were forced to move the date of the unveiling ceremony three months later to December 8, which is the Immaculate Conception Day. But the story did not end there. To celebrate the unveiling of the new statue, the people had planned to light candles inside their homes. On that rescheduled date, however, an extremely intense storm hit the city, and the ceremony's date was moved anew four days later to December 12. The storm quickly passed though and in an act of thanksgiving, the people of Lyon proceeded with their planned lighting of candles (note: this was on December 8). They then went out into the streets to celebrate. Touched by the people's gesture, religious authorities also decided to light candles inside the chapel of Fourvière. From the streets, a spectacularly lighted view of Lyon can be seen, with the city illuminated from end to end. This event gave birth to the now very popular Festival of Lights in Lyon. The modern celebration of the event is held for four days, from December 5 to 8. During this period, the whole of Lyon is illuminated through modern lighting techniques. The spectacular view of the city from outside attracts thousands of visitors from the neighboring cities and towns in France as well as from other countries. In fact, finding a hotel room to stay during this period is quite difficult. Today, the French Festival of Lights in Lyon is not just an occasion for remembering the momentous events that took place more than one hundred fifty years ago in this city as recounted above. It now also serves as a forum for all cities, not just in France but in the whole world, to tackle urban lighting and such other issues related to it. Comments |
MenuMy ArticlesHow Easter (Pâques) Is Celebrated In France International Day Of Francophonie Beaujolais Nouveau Day And Some Of The Most Famous Nouveaux Wines Best Hotels To Stay In Paris During France Holidays Eight Public Holidays In France Celebrated On Fixed Dates Fête Du Travail Is Labor Day In France Five Movable French Public Holidays France Celebration Of Halloween France National Holiday Celebration Of Bastille Day French Celebration Of L'Assomption De Marie French Holidays And What France Is Like During A Holiday Great Parks In France To Be At During The Holidays Le Jour De L'An: New Year Celebration In France Mardi Gras In Nice And Similar Carnaval Celebrations In Other French Cities Best Beach Destinations In France To Spend L'Eté Holidays La Fete De La Victoire: French Celebration Of WWII Victory In Europe La Journée De Solidarité: French National Day Of Solidarity La Toussaint And Le Jour Des Morts World Music Day: An Event That Began In France School Holidays In France: Five Sets And The Zoning Scheme Pentecost And Whit Monday In France Noel In France No Different From Christmas Celebrations Elsewhere La Chandeleur: French Celebration Of Candlemas Armistice Day: Observance Of The End Of World War I In France |
||||||||
|
© 2024 France Holiday - Site Map - Privacy Policy - Travel To AccessInfoHub.com