If we wish to make our country great again, we must first renew that which gives birth to patriots: religion, traditions, national souvenirs, the old language of the country; and, city by city, region by region, there must be a healthy rivalry for study, work and honor for the diverse glorification of the name of France.

Frédéric Mistral (1830-1914)
Writer, Founring member of Félibrige, member of the Academy of Marseille, Head Director of the Jeux Floraux of Toulouse

“We dined quickly, at my grandmother Nanon’s; then, we hurried to the church… And as we entered the church already full of the faithful, the organ, behind all the people singing, began unfurling in a splendid manner the magnificent carol: “This morning, I encountered the three great Kings who were voyaging; this morning I encountered the three great Kings on the great highway.” Breathless, we zig-zagged between the ample skirts of the women to the side chapel of the Nativity and there we beheld the Beautiful Star, suspended above the altar! We saw the three Magi dressed in red, yellow, and blue mantles, honoring the Infant Jesus: king Gaspard with his chest of gold, king Melchior with his thurible of incense, and king Balthazar with his vessel of myrrh! We admired the elegant pages holding the trains of their garments, the humped camels whose heads towered above the donkey and the cow; the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph; and then, all around them, on a little mountain made of smeared paper, the shepherds and shepherdesses who carried with them sweet breads, baskets of eggs, linens; the miller with his sack of flour; the old spinster; the dumfounded who stood in admiration; the simple worker putting together odds-and-ends; the awe-stricken inn-keeper who opened wide his windows; in short, all the figurines that figure in the creche. But it was the Turkish King above all who caught our attention.”

Frédéric Mistral (1830-1914)
Writer, Founring member of Félibrige, member of the Academy of Marseille, Head Director of the Jeux Floraux of Toulouse