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It seems to have become a Southern Fried French tradition: the sharing of les papillotes. You may remember from past posts that les papillotes are the traditional chocolates bonbons in France (Révillon being the most popular brand), which reveal, when you unwrap the shiny exterior, a chocolate wrapped in a little inspirational quote. They are sold only at Christmas. We buy them by the bagful, ostensibly to practice our French.
But I did not know the legend of how les papillotes came to be until Nicole, our favorite châtelaine, filled me in. And what a romantic French story of l'amour it is!
"In the 1800's", said Nicole, "there was a confiseur (confectioner) on one of the squares in Lyon. His name was Monsieur Papilott. Above the shop was an apartment rented by a beautiful young girl. A young man who worked in the shop was completely smitten by her beauty. Too shy to proclaim his love, he sent her chocolates from the shop below, but wrapped in little love notes, or mots doux, as the French call those sweet nothings one whispers to a loved one.
Was he sucessful in his pursuit? We can't be sure. But what woman could resist the combo of gourmet chocolate and love notes? Certainly not me.
Nicole continues, "The confiseur got wind of this, and he liked the idea so much that he began to wrap all of his chocolates in bits of inspiration. And the rest is la histoire. The chocolates came to be known as les papillotes.
So, for your French practice (maybe that's your New Year's resolution?), here are a sampling of this year's quotes, carefully selected from les papillottes we consumed this year, just for you. Cheat sheet at the bottom. And by the way, the plate below was not a single serving for this blogger, though I am surely capable of it. All in the name of love.
Ferme les yeux et tu verras.
Joseph Joubert
Un des bonheurs de l'amitié c'est d'avoir à qui confier un secret.
Alessandro Mansoni
Nul n'est plus chanceux que celui qui croit a sa chance.
Proverbe allemand
La joie est en tout, il suffit de savoir l'extraire.
Confucius
Il n'est pas de joie que égale celle de se créer de nouvelles amitiés.
Proverbe japonais
La variété est la véritable épice de la vie quii lui donne toute sa saveur.
William Cowper
Le courage croit en osant et la peur en hésitant.
Proverbe romain
Entre amis, il est si beau que le silence soit d'or, mais le rire bon et frais l'est beaucoup plus encore.
Nietzsche
Il faut agir en homme de pensée et penser en homme d'action.
Henri Bergson
J'ai décidé d'être heureux, c'est meilleur pour la santé.
Voltaire
Si on ne peut pas rire au paradis, je ne tiens pas à y aller.
Martin Luther
Cheat Sheet:
Close your eyes, and you will see.
One of the joys of friendship is to have someone we can trust with a secret.
No one is luckier than he who believes in his luck.
Joy is everywhere, you just need to know how to extract it.
There is no joy equal to creating a new friendship.
Variety is the true spice of life which gives it its flavor.
Courage increases in daring, and fear in hesitating.
Between friends, it's so beautiful that silence is golden, but good laughter is even more so.
It's necessary to act as a man of thought, and think as a man of action.
I decided to be happy, it's better for my health.
If one can't laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there.
How did you do? And now, to all our dear readers, here's hoping you have a very merry Christmas, and a bonne année as well!
Favorite READS: Our favorite reader in Residence, Natalia, recommends two books for us: The Postmistress of Paris and Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone. Going on my list! Also, I hear that Emily in Paris, season two, is back on Netflix.
I always love to meet my readers, which happens occasionally, and it was a great pleasure to have tea with Lee and Maureen recently. Bonjour and merci to you both for a lovely afternoon!
