CHRISTMAS HAS ARRIVED IN LILLE, FRANCE

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Come with me. It is 6:00 PM (18h00 if you want to be French about it). I am restless, having been inside all day, so I decide to take a walk in the city. Since I teach Christmas all day, I am feeling a bit of the Christmas spirit, so I make a playlist of Christmas songs (I never walk without music). I grab my keys and head out, popping in my headphones as soon as the big front door to the Residence closes behind me. Celine Dion’s version of “O Holy Night” is playing. I turn right and head toward the train station. In under two minutes, I have arrived at Rue Faidherbe, one of Lille’s main roads and the road the train station is on. I look to my right and see the train station. The fountain in front of the station (or “gare” in French) is lit up, as is the entire façade of the building. Above the etched sign that reads “GARE LILLE FLANDRES” are additional lights in the shape of snowflakes. I smile at the sight of the train station, but turn left and head away from it and toward the very center of the city.

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Looking slightly up, I see beautiful lighted garlands strung above the street. By the time I arrive at the first of three “places” (squares, or town squares), a classical guitar version of “Greensleeves” is playing. The “Place du Théâtre” is beautiful and full of people. The Opera and the Old Stock Exchange building are beautifully lit for nighttime, as always. There are Christmas lights up above my head, white lights strung between buildings and lampposts. There is also a brightly-lit, pink carousel surrounded by pine trees up for the Christmas season. The carousel is full of children who let out cries of joy as it goes around.

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I continue walking through the Place du Théâtre to the Place Charles de Gaulle, or Grand’Place, as it is more commonly called. In the middle of the Grand’Place is a giant fountain. However, the fountain is not nearly so prominent during the Christmas season, as between where I stand and the fountain is a giant Ferris wheel. Around the Ferris wheel are several Christmas trees. There are also several small wooden houses that are decorated for Christmas. There are Christmas lights everywhere, and I can hear tinny Christmas music playing in the square despite my own headphones blaring “Ave Maria.” A man is selling roasted chestnuts, and I can smell them and feel the warmth from the fire. There are vendors selling lollipops, waffles, crêpes, beignets, and other assorted sweets. The Grand’Place and the Place du Théâtre are quite crowded with couples, both young and old, wandering around together, holding hands, laughing, smiling… Everyone is just out, wandering around and enjoying spending time with the ones they love during the Christmas season.

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It is quite nice to see, but I am walking alone and NOT with someone else like seemingly everyone else, so I continue through the Grand’Place to Place Rihour, the last of the three big squares in a row in Lille Centre. The Place Rihour is my favorite of the three, in terms of how it is decorated for Christmas. There are generally fewer people out wandering around, as it is smaller and full of restaurants, so the people who are in the square are in the restaurants instead of walking around. To add to the calm factor, the Christmas lights that are strung up above the entire square are deep blue instead of bright white, and they are strung from all around the square to one central point high above the metro entrance sort of like a spiderweb, and in the middle are more blue lights in the form of a giant snowflake. The blue lights are soothing and slightly more serious, and I enjoy just walking around the Place Rihour, looking at the store window displays, passing people who are doing the same, and smelling the chestnuts from the next square over mixed with various food smells from the restaurants in this one. By this time, “The Nutcracker Suite” is playing, and I am in a great mood. Whenever I am in a bad mood, I know that all I need to do is put on my Christmas playlist and walk around the city at night. The laughing couples, the beautiful lights, the old buildings, the store displays, the Christmas decorations… how could you not smile?

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