SANTONS

Terracotta
Sizes vary but all approximately 2" x 3"
FRANCE

This is a long story filled with family tales and Provencal magic taking place over a long long time.  13 santons for the creche, 13 santons for the 13 sweets of the table in Provence.Traditions and beliefs...visits to the santon creche in Joucas, arguably the best one around, and the live creche in Villars, set at night in the old ochre caves just outside of town, spotting our neighbor as one of the knitting ladies keeping the baby company in his wagon while we drank mulled wine and had visions of the 13 desserts of the Christmas table in our heads: nuts and nougat and Pompe à l'Huile which represent something religious or another. All of the characters of the village are represented every year. So you have the baker, whom barely says hello,  the garlic seller of the past days on the Canibeiere and the ever-present man using the loo in the street. You have the drunk with his wife doing laundry nearby while the dog stands on guard , nevermind the loyal chap who collects wood for small bills in the forest and delivers it to ones home. You have the petanque player with a feral cat who craps in your garden and the shepherd and the ever present boar and the best man in the mix, the truffler. delivering the gem of the forest every. year.