Santons Par Ci, Santons Par La

They are made of clay. They are mostly only a few inches tall although some are much bigger. Their variety is essentially limitless. They come in all shapes and representations and, above all, colors. Like toy soldiers, once you start collecting them there is simply no end to it. And with the onset of this year’s Avent period, the four-Sundays-long time frame fixed by the Catholic church to prepare the celebration of Christmas, here they come again. They are, of course, the Santons de Provence, the hand-painted figurines–many religious, many others essentially depicting traditional life, dress and activities in Provence–that annually adorn symbolic mangers in churches and homes throughout France before and during the Christmas holidays. Inescapably all begins with the crèche, the portrayal of the baby Jesus on a bed of straw in the manger devoutly surrounded by Mary and Joseph and often an angel or two. There is an obligatory cow and a donkey in keeping with French Christmas carols which mention their presence, keeping baby Jesus warm with their breath. After that, usually, there is an assortment of horses, pigs, dogs and sheep, accompanied by their shepherds. A bit in the background; as if they just had arrived, will be the three kings come from afar. But from there, the Santons branch out to cover virtually the whole spectrum of Provencal society from the butcher, baker and candlestick maker to doctor, lawyer, merchant chief, rich man, poor man, beggar man and, if not a thief, perhaps an almost lovingly patronized village idiot or two. Usually the costumes are drawn from what was worn in the latter half of the 19th and early part of the 20th century; the favorite setting for intensely human tales of Provence’s most famous writers, Frédéric Mistral, Alphonse Daudet and Marcel Pagnol. The avid or occasional collector can find whole ranges of Santons depicting period scenes from their times much the way they would appear in a 19th-century painting French painting–card players and street vendors outside a local bar, for instance, or figurines representing nuns or milkmaids, priests and policemen, farmers or fishermen. Women carrying babies or baskets of Provence’s famous lavender are a staple, as are elderly peasant ladies with long full skirts and white aprons in the image of grandmother or, perhaps, great or even great-great grandmother. Santons are a regional, religious and traditional thing in Provence and, so far, although they have modernized up to the 20th century, a long way from the strict biblical characters of 2,000 years ago, they have resisted updating to include today’s roller bladers, portable telephone users and computer-toting businessmen. They too may start to appear some day in the future, but probably not without an enormous accompanying protest from traditionalists. The name Santon stems from the word Santoun or “little saint” in the Provencal language, still relatively frequently used in the Southeast French departments of Bouches-du-Rhone, Vaucluse, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Var and Alpes-Maritimes. Together with the geographically tiny but historically linked Comtat de Venaissin and Comté de Nice they make up what is today modern-day Provence. They had their origins in the highly anti-clerical period that followed the French Revolution in the late 18th century. Churches were closed and, as a consequence, so were their ritual crèche presentations of nativity scenes. Little by little, those representations were taken up within individual families through the use of Santons. In most instances, those family crèches served–and still serve widely–as the main holiday symbol much the way a Christmas tree might do in other countries. The tradition is so imbedded in Provence that Santon museums and Santon fairs abound at this time of year as does focus on the Santonniers, the highly respected artisans who produce and hand-paint the figurines. There are roughly 100 of them working in Provence alone and their talents, their ability to capture — in clay — the postures, gestures, expressions and colorful clothing of their region are recognized much the way those of a gifted painter or sculptor would be. Needless to say, the worth and price of a Santon created by a famous Santonnier rises in direct relation. Marseille generally is acknowledged to be the birthplace of the Santon culture and its Santon fair, which lays claim to being the oldest such institution in the country, is now in its 201st year. Almost every major city in Provence has some kind of a Santon exhibition or display year long and the town of Les Baux goes as far as organizing a crèche vivant in the church on Christmas eve with live, rather than clay sheep and villagers dressed in traditional Santon costumes. Because Provence is their home ground, Santons can be purchased at this time of year at many gift or department stores in the region and down-scale versions can sometimes be obtained even at Provencal autoroute gas station souvenir shops. They also can be obtained, often in Paris at the Christmas market on the Place de la Madeleine and in other French cities outside Provence. Similar figurines, reflecting their own national traditions but usually more prone to religious figures and the nativity scene than local folklore, can be found in other Latin-culture countries as well. They provide the perfect Christmas gift for someone who already has a Santon collection because there’s always some figurine or another that the collector won’t have. But if you want to start a collection of your own, be prepared. You’re probably going to be hooked forever. Interested in starting a Santon collection? Copyright © Paris New Media, L.L.C.