Wine and Cheese Etiquette
French adults do generally drink wine in the middle of the day. Colleagues often go out for lunch together instead of going home, and a glass or two of wine is considered common practice. Wine has always been an integral part of the French dining table, perhaps as central to the French table as water is to the American table. Generally speaking, wine is not overindulged in in France; sipping wine throughout lunch or dinner is a common practice. French dining etiquette says that one should wait to have their glass refilled by someone else at the table. With cheese, it's the opposite. A platter of cheese will be passed around the table and you should take some of each cheese that you would like to eat and put it on your plate. Traditionally, the bread sits on the table instead of your plate, and you break off bite-sized pieces of bread and spread cheese from your own plate onto your bite of bread. Culturally-speaking, wine and cheese are central elements of a French meal. Fortunately, because the many variants and flavors of both wine and cheese are delicious, developing an appreciation for these important French foods takes no time at all! Birthdays in France resemble American birthdays in many ways, but there are some small differences. A cake or other sweet treat is always part of the celebration, as are presents, and the singing of Happy Birthday in French. Small differences range from the types of cakes and gifts, to the way a birthday meal is organized. Celebrating the Birthday Boy or Girl One way to celebrate a birthday in France is to bring the special person a bouquet of flowers. Although this tradition is common for women, giving flowers to a man is rare. Another birthday tradition that occurs several times throughout the day is that people will wish the birthday boy or girl a "happy birthday" in French, and sing to the lucky gal or guy whose birthday it is. The traditional French birthday song is simply the same song sung in America, but translated into French. The melody is the same, and the words in French are: Joyeux anniversaire, Joyeux anniversaire, Joyeux anniversaire [name], Joyeux anniversaire! The above song is easy to learn and easy to sing. For those up to the challenge, another French birthday song goes like this: Bon anniversaire Nos voeux les plus sincères Que ces quelques fleurs Vous apportent le bonheur Que l'année entière Vous soit douce et légère Et que l'an fini Nous soyons tous réunis Pour chanter en choeur Bon anniversaire! In Québec, yet another song is sung on birthdays, notably an alternate text of the song Gens du pays, by Gilles Vigneault. Whichever song text is used, the function of singing the happy birthday song is to celebrate the person whose day it is and make that person feel special.
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