E òc, e mai una velhada / more than a vigil, tonight you are going to celebrate New Year’s Eve. New Year’s Eve in Occitan that you say lo ressopet o lo reganhon. Noël is pronounced nadal in Occitan-Languedoc and nadau in Occitan-Gascon. The night that fri / next night, aquò’s lo Pair Nadal o lo Pair Nadau / Father Christmas who will come to bring you the presents. Los presents are the gifts. To speak of Father Christmas, we also speak in Occitan of the soul of Nadal, that is to say the Christmas Man.
But before that, know that there is a Christmas tradition here in Occitania …
First of all, the ostalada, that is to say the family, brings together the famous ceremony of cacha fòc (o cacha fuòc), the Christmas log. The anat e lo cabdèt / the eldest and the youngest of the family together carry a large stump in the fireplace. The ashes of the soca de nadal are collected the next day and kept in a pot on the fireplace.
Apuèi, aquò’s l’ora de manjar!
Then comes the time for the New Year’s Eve meal / lo repais del ressopet. The table is set on 3 white tablecloths / tres toalhas blancas, placed one on top of the other. Between each course, you remove the top tablecloth. The New Year’s Eve meal is traditionally a lean repias. Your anatz not assadolar, not encara / you will not stuff yourself because this New Year’s Eve meal consists mainly of vegetables and fish. It is only when you return from midnight mass / mièjanuèit messa that you will be able to taste the traditional 13 Christmas desserts. And besides, there is one that is really essential: es la còca de la Pompa a l’òli / it is about the oil pump, a cake scented with orange blossom. It’s delicious… Good resopet a totes! Happy New Years Eve everyone!