Double Birthday

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Joining in with Amanda and friends at SouleMama

Bonne Fête à moi

I discovered quite by chance today that December 6th is my fête or name day. It would have passed unnoticed except for the fact that I happened to call a prospective French teacher who shares my name and she was delighted to meet another Nicole on our special day.

In fact my name is Nicola, very popular for baby girls in 1970s Britain, but in France that spelling is assumed to be the male form of the name and it causes no end of confusion for me here. The letter in the photo was written by a French exchange friend I had when I was ten. (I found it in a pile of letters in my old bedroom at home this summer. It was written in December 1983!). She at least knew I was a girl, the year before I had been paired with a boy when the French school mistakenly assumed the Nicola on their list must be male - I was not happy!

Apparently it is still the custom in France for people to receive small gifts on their fête. None have been forthcoming, but it would make what's left of my day if you'll leave a comment and let me know you came to visit!