My 2017: Welcoming the new year - in another side of the world

Celebrating new year in France is quite different in Philippines. In France, to celebrate the transition to the new year, they often have several options, depend on the age but also on desires. When they are young, they celebrate Christmas Eve with their parents. If you are a teenager, you usually have a party with your friends at school. Then when they become young adult, then become parents (or grandparent..lol) and they take over.

They also have a specialty, for the new year. In each city, there is a function hall (which is usually used for weddings ...) or everyone can come (it must be registered usually 1 month before to participate and pay his place). On the New Year's Eve, the meal will be served, with music and you will find yourself with friends but also full of strangers. And the magic of the new year will make you make new friends. No fire works allowed in every city, except in Paris during midnight.

In my experienced this year, I celebrated the new year with my husband and our son (it was his first new year), but he fell asleep at 23:35 ... lol!

On December 31, we woke up late then had our breakfast. Brioche sugar and grapes for me, bread with nutella for my husband and orange juice. Then after playing with our son, my husband prepared the lunch. Fish fillet for him, and fried salmon for me, with rice of course.

In the afternoon ,a simple but very good meal prepared by my husband.

• Small cocktail sausages, and cheese cubes with different flavors.
• Toasted brioche and foie gras accompanied by a simple tomato and mozzarella and paté en croute.
• A rostbeef with hazelnut, apples and pears.
• For dessert, a marbled cake (cocoa and nature orange blossom aroma) homemade.

After getting the last ingredients to prepare the cake, my husband started to prepare New Year's dinner. First he prepared the cake called "A zebra cake". While the cake is in the oven, my husband prepared the #appetizer. Simple but effective, some cocktail sausages and cheese cubes with different flavors.

Next is the #startermeal, a small slice of foie gras with small brioche toasts, accompanied by a small tomato mozzarella and small slices of paté en croute. Then he prepared the main course and accompaniment.

A small pose with our son, playing with him. And we are already in the #maincourse, a good bloody rostbeef for my husband, then cooked well for me hehehe with round fried potatoes and pears. We are already well satisfied when the #dessert arrives, we will take a piece of this zebra cake orange blossom cocoa in front of the TV, watching movie (Blade Runner).

After the dessert, we finished the movie and finally it's 2018! And... I got a present! hehehe! So, that's the end of the party! Wait! Celebration is not yet over!

On New Year's day, we had lunch with my husband's family . But one thing remains the same, the meal! It's very long hehehe french culture/tradition.

We started with an #appetizer with peanuts, small cubes of cheese, toasts with lump eggs or salmon and an alcohol (champagne or pink wine or other).

Next is the #starter, the foie gras with its small brioche toasts and usually a small jam of fig or violet, then the smoked salmon with it's blinis (small pancakes), a few lemons and some currants. Appetizers are usually accompanied by a pink wine for foie gras and a white wine for salmon.

Then here comes the #maincourse, "turkey". It will usually be accompanied by walnuts, chestnuts, green beans or asparagus in small bunches. Here, we will opt for a red wine generally. To help bring all this down to the stomach, it is customary to take what is called the Norman hole, it is a small bowl of ice (usually apple) bathed in a strong alcohol (often calvados ). But I didn't try.

The hour goes on, but the dessert will wait it's turn. For the moment, it's the salad and the #cheese that make their entry. A seasoned salad and a platter of various cheese (some french cheese are smelly hehehehe) from all over France and accompanied with the pink wine.

A tradition in the south of France wants to present 13 #desserts ... But, are you really still hungry? eheheh! We will gladly be satisfied with a good cake or a traditional log. Served with a champagne flute, of course.

French tradition is always like that, we call it the rebound.For example the children make the new year with their friends, the next day, they come to visit their parents, they redo the party and they will eat again...lol!

Well, that's how we celebrated our New Year.

Thanks for this contest @anomadsoul(64).

Happy New Year everyone!