12 Days Of French Properties

Partridges and pipers meet maisons and manoirs in this festive property round-up

- Hannah Evans

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me… is a line that has been sung at Christmastime around the UK for centuries; voices chanting together until a grand total of 184 birds have been gifted by the lover in question (by which point some bird feed might have been a handy gift for the 13th day).

The words first appeared in Mirth Without Mischief, a book for children published in the 1780s as a ‘memory or forfeit’ game, where children would be given a punishment if they forgot a line. People have tried for years to find meaning in the array of wildfowl, musicians and members of the gentry, with some suggesting that it was meant to teach people about Christian beliefs: four calling birds for the four gospels, five gold rings for the five books of the Old Testament, and so on.

However, it’s actually very likely that the traditional English Twelve Days of Christmas is in fact French in origin, deriving from Les Douze Mois, a folk song more commonly known as La Perdriole (The Partridge). The similarities between the English and French versions are clear, both starting with partridges and turtle doves, although La Perdriole adds vaches à lait and boeufs au pré to the menagerie.

Whichever theory you prefer, we’re getting in the festive spirit with a special French Property News take on the Twelve Days of Christmas, told through a journey of properties across France!

1. €218,000

PEARS IN ANGERS

For our partridge in a pear tree we head to Angers, home of the Jardin du Comice Horticole, where the first juicy Comice pears were grown in the 17th century. Formerly the medieval seat of the Plantagenet dynasty, Angers is awash with characterful half-timbered buildings, friendly cafés and excellent museums.