The Rich history of Les Santons De Provence

• Posted on 8 December 2023
• By Tara Wegdam
• 1

My personal love of santons started when I was an au-pair for a lovely family French family. We traveled to their house in “the midi” where I feel in love with region.

The Rich history of Les Santons De Provence
 
The santons or “little saints” are clay figures that originated in Marseille. Dating back to the 13th century the first nativities were living. Saint Francis of Assisi introduced this tradition and was later named the patronage of animals and santonniers. The santons are a witness to Christianity as well as the answer to continuing tradition and worship when midnight masses were banned and churches were closed during the French Revolution of 1789. The larger nativity scenes were forbidden so one solution was to have a tiny private scene in a home.

The region of Provence and Marseille in particular still has many producers of santons. At Crème de la Crème we have selected Marcel Carbonal factory to create our collection. The atelier has been highly regard for quality for past 88 years. They are still made of the traditional method of molding, trimming, firing and decorating. The gouaches or water-soluble paints are made in the Marcel Carbonel factory. This special paint is what allows the depth of color as well as the tiny details on each santon. You will notice the expressions on the faces and the details right down to the designs in the Provencial patterns on the clothing.
The proper way to set the creche up is to add baby Jesus on December 24th or 25th. Before December 24th the santons should appear to be walking towards where the baby will lie. The Magi must be present although not close to the manager. They are to be moved closer and closer each day until January 6th. A space is left between Mary and Jospeh in ancipation. The Virgin Mary should be close to the donkey. The angle Gabriel is placed behind Mary. The sheep and shepherds are also very important. When all of this is set you put the people of the village around to awaiting the arrival of the baby. Of course the holy family is the most important but each person making up the town has it’s own story that may be found in the  dictionary of santons.



My personal love of santons started when I was an au-pair for a lovely family French family. We traveled to their house in “the midi” where I feel in love with region. The dry air with the scents of cedar and lavender will always be in my mind. They gave me an underserved gift of a santon as memory of my time with them in the Provence. Yes, I say undeserved; I was terrible au pair because at 19 I had absolutely zero domestic or care taking attributes. I wish that I still kept in touch with them so I could thank them for being so kind to me and introducing me to the region I love the most. Later in the story Ben and I visited Marseille in search of the perfect santons for the store. We found Macel Carbonal and watched the intricate process in which they are made.  We hope the you will discover these beautiful little objects and the will start a tradition for many years to come.