When The Santons Go Marching In
Keeping things festive with the Santons or “little saints”. ..These are small colourful hand-made Christmas nativity scene figures made in the South of France.
The idea was started by an artist in Marseille and the traditional nativity scene has figures representing the characters from local village life such as the baker, the fisherman, the butcher, the blind man, the shepherd, the parish priest, the flower seller, the storyteller and the chestnut seller etc etc!
Since 1803, each December, Santons are sold at the Foire des Santonniers in Marseille. Aubagne has a two-day fair, Biennale de l’Art Santonnier. Arles also has its well-known Salon International des Santonniers. The Musée du Santon in Marseille has an interesting show of 18th and 19th century Santons.
In fact most towns have Santons in their Christmas markets and fairs - these “little saints” are everywhere!
