The holiday season
in Deauville wore bright Christmas lights running down every street to create
refuge in winter’s time. In December, the sunsets as early as 5pm. These early
ends to daylight would be depressing had it not been for Deauville’s bright
holiday aesthetic: the roundabout entering the town was surrounded by dancing
horses of light, the place Morney had a factitious starlit sky, and the Casino
was brighter than ever before.
The holiday season
spent into the schools as well, from the courtyards to the classroom. Each
class is decorated with a jolie sapin
(pretty Christmas tree) and the English lessons gravitate to this most
wonderful time of year. In English
class, we’ve spent our late November and early December days of Christmas
flashcards, Christmas classics, traditions and the choral sounds of “We Wish
You A Merry Christmas” graced our ears for the months to come.
With one of my
classes we prepared the aforementioned holiday jingle for holiday event with
the parents. As I work at three different schools, I had the pleasure to attend
three different Christmas holidays where the teachers meet the parents and
exchange holiday cheer. Deauville even hired a magician for an afterschool
event to celebrate the season.
The joy and
restless children brought us to the final major event in Deauville before the
break: turning on the town Christmas lights. The whole school and a large part
of the town attended the event, the little ones sang, and an even younger child
had the honor of pressing the button for the lights. Despite the cold and dark
times of the year, Deauville finds a way to keep the reverie shining.
