Christmas Time

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.