France

法國

Children of East France have an evil visitor to keep them behaving all year long. Le Pere Fouettard, which translates into “The Whipping Father,” accompanies Saint Nicolas in on December 6. While St. Nick gives good children presents, Le Pere Fouettard gives coal and whippings to the naughty children.

法國東部的孩子們有個邪惡的造訪者，他叫“鞭子老爹”（Le Pere Fouettard），確保孩子們一整年都表現乖巧。圣誕老人12月6號給孩子分發禮物時，他也陪伴左右。“鞭子老爹”會給淘氣的孩子煤塊和一頓鞭子。

One of the most popular origin stories of the character say that he was a greedy inn keeper who killed three rich boys on their way to boarding school. In many versions of the story, he even eats the children. Whether or not he cannibalizes the boys, the story ends when Saint Nick finds out and resurrects the children and forces Le Pere Fouettard to act as his servant throughout time.

關于“鞭子老爹”這個人物的起源，最流行的一個版本是說，他是一個貪婪的旅館老板，在三個富男孩上學路上把他們殺了。很多其他版本甚至流傳他吃小孩。故事的結局是圣誕老人找到并救出了孩子們，還迫使“鞭子老爹”永世做他的仆人。

Aside from The Whipping Father, another popular French tradition involves making a cake that looks like a traditional Yule log, known as buche de Noel. Christmas trees never really caught on in the country and while most people don’t have any use for an actual Yule log, the cake is a fun and festive substitute. Some of the buche de Nol can get fairly elaborate and even involve meringue mushrooms and edible flower decorations.

除了“鞭子老爹”的故事，法國圣誕還有一個傳統是做“圣誕柴蛋糕”。其實圣誕樹從未風靡全法國。雖然圣誕柴對法國人來說沒什么實際用途，但這個蛋糕代表了人們的愉快和節日的喜慶。有些“圣誕柴蛋糕”做得相當精致，甚至有蛋白酥皮小蘑菇和能吃的花朵裝飾品。