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Holidays and Birthdays — Fêtes et anniversaires by Dawn-Michelle Baude, Ph.D.

One of our favorite ways of keeping time is with birthdays! You never want to miss yours, do you? No way — you want a cake and presents. And don't forget about all the other fun holidays in the year!

TRY THIS Essaie ceci

Make a Calendar — Fais un calendrier

Make a calendar using the French names for the months and the days of the week. Mark down the holidays in French. Don't forget your birthday! Put the calendar in a place you'll see every day. Now you can keep track of time the French way!

Enjoying the Holidays — Le plaisir des fêtes

While French holiday traditions remain very strong, some American holidays are now celebrated in France. You'll recognize them on the following list. You'll also find some French holidays that are probably new to you, while other holidays, like the American holiday of Thanksgiving, won't be on the French list. But remember, a holiday is a holiday, no matter where it's celebrated!

Holiday Words — Les mots des fêtes

To say that the day is a holiday, French kids usually use “it is” and follow with the holiday name. “It's my birthday!” is C'est mon anniversaire! in French. Here they are:

<tgroup cols="2" align="center"> <colspec colnum="1" colname="col1" colsep="0" rowsep="0" colwidth="50%" align="left"/> <colspec colnum="2" colname="col2" colsep="0" rowsep="0" colwidth="50%" align="left"/> <thead> <row rowsep="1"> <td><p>English</p></td> <td><p>French</p></td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>It's my birthday.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>C'est mon anniversaire.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>It's New Year's Day.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>C'est le Nouvel An.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>It's Valentine's Day.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>C'est la Saint Valentin.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>It's Easter.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>C'est Pâques.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>It's Labor Day.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>C'est la Fête du Travail.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>It's Pentecost.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>C'est la Pentecôte.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>It's Music Day.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>C'est la Fête de la Musique.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>It's Independence Day.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>C'est la Fête Nationale.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>It's Halloween.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>C'est Halloween.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>It's All Saints Day.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>C'est la Toussaint.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>It's Christmas.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>C'est Noël.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <div class="npmo"><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/kids-french/p24-002.jpg"></div> <!--/gc--> <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/weather-le-temps.htm" title="Weather — Le temps">Weather — Le temps</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/time-questions-questions-sur-la-date-et-le-temps.htm" title="Time Questions — Questions sur la date et le temps">Time Questions — Questions sur la date et le temps</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/holidays-and-birthdays-ftes-et-anniversaires.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Holidays and Birthdays — Fêtes et anniversaires - French fo... </a></li> <li><a href="http://gofrance.about.com/od/francemonthlycalendar/qt/french-holidays.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> French Holidays 2008 - Legal Holidays in France for 2008 Calendar Year </a></li> <li><a href="http://french.about.com/od/culture/a/0621.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Today in Francophone History </a></li> <li><a href="http://french.about.com/od/culture/a/1207.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Today in Francophone History </a></li> <li><a href="http://africanhistory.about.com/od/ctedivoir1/a/Bio-Houphouet-Boigny.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Félix Houphouët-Boigny </a></li> </ul></div> <div id="sec"><div class="n5">Read More Time and Dates — L'heure et les dates</div><ul><ul class="col1"><li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/telling-time-disons-lheure.htm">Telling Time — Disons l'heure</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/asking-about-time-demander-lheure.htm">Asking about Time — Demander l´heure</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/days-months-and-years-les-jours-les-mois-et-les-annes.htm">Days, Months, and Years — Les jours, les mois, et les années</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/what-is-todays-date-quelle-est-la-date-daujourdhui.htm">What Is Today's Date? — Quelle est la date d'aujourd'hui?</a></li> </ul><ul class="col2"><li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/parts-of-the-days-and-year-les-moments-de-la-journe-et-de-lanne.htm">Parts of the Days and Year — Les moments de la journée et de l'année</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/weather-le-temps.htm">Weather — Le temps</a></li> <li class="btO">Holidays and Birthdays — Fêtes et anniversaires</li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/time-questions-questions-sur-la-date-et-le-temps.htm">Time Questions — Questions sur la date et le temps</a></li> </ul></ul></div> </div> <script>if(zSbL<1)zSbL=3;zSB(2);zSbL=0</script> </div> <div id="widgets"><script type="text/javascript">if(z336>0){w('<div id="adB">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,280,'1','bb',3);w('</div>')}if(z155>0){w('<div id="adP">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,155,'1','ps',4);w('</div>')}</script> <div id="pg" class="pane"><div class="n3">Shopping</div><div class="cntnr"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-kids-learning-french-book"><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/kids-french/Cover.jpg"></a><h4><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-kids-learning-french-book">THE EVERYTHING KIDS' LEARNING FRENCH BOOK</a></h4><p><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-kids-learning-french-book">By Dawn-Michelle Baude, Ph.D.</a></p><div id="fp"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-kids-learning-french-book">Buy This Book</a></div></div></div> <div id="toc" class="pane"><div class="n3">French for Kids Sections</div><ul><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/lets-get-started-allons-y/">Let's Get Started! — Allons-y!</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/">Time and Dates — L'heure et les dates</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/all-about-me-tout-sur-moi/">All About Me — Tout sur moi</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/social-life-la-vie-sociale/">Social Life — La vie sociale</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/what-should-we-do-quest-ce-quon-va-faire/">What Should We do? 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