Happy Holidays Across the Globe! 12/23/09

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 — Yesterday, a very special citizen bid farewell to Millsberry and headed home to Versailles, France—thousands and thousands of miles away. Yes, it was time for Claude Leduc, the French exchange student who's been living with Mayor Wright and his family, to return home. And, in typical Millsberry fashion, the Wrights—along with Giovanna Antonia de Luca, founder of Grow Good Farms—threw a party to say au revoir (goodbye, in French) to their new pal.

Giovanna offered to host the party at Grow Good's barn, which was decorated with multicolored lights and a Christmas tree. Predictably, guests dined on different varieties of pizza all night—including Claude's favorite: pineapple and French fry!

And the party was a true success. The crowd was full of familiar faces—from Coach Danner to Darren Lancaster, lead singer of the Wheels band, proving that Claude's curiosity and smarts won him lots of fans during his short stay.

One thing we couldn't figure out, however, was why both Giovanna and Claude had taken off their shoes and placed them under the tree—with both pairs later seen full of candy and toys.

When asked about it, Giovanna looked at Claude and laughed. "You leave your shoes out to be filled with presents too!?"

Pleasantly surprised, Claude nodded and explained, "Why of course! It's a fun tradition in France! Usually, it's done on Christmas Eve, but when I saw the tree I couldn't resist."

"We do the same in Italy where I'm from!" Giovanna exclaimed. "I've been doing it every year since I was a kid, so the Christmas tree automatically made me take off my shoes. The tradition is centered around La Befana, the legendary female Santa Claus, who comes and fills your shoes with gifts. My other favorite tradition is eating panettone, an Italian holiday cake filled with candied fruit."

Thrilled by the coincidence, Claude noted, "We have other similar customs as well! In fact, for the holidays, the pastry shops make chocolate replicas of traditional wooden shoes, and sell them filled with candies. But who filled my shoes with toys?"

Giovanna admitted to the secret shoe-filling as Claude examined his treats. Along with little candies and fruits, Giovanna had given him a framed photo of Millsberry, and a card that everyone had signed.

And just about then is when the music started. Darren Lancaster had prepared a special song for Claude, entitled "How Can We Dance When You're Leaving for France?"

Hearing the tune, the guest of honor was overjoyed. And he was even more ecstatic when, despite the song's title, everyone kicked off their shoes to dance—giving Claude the chance to return the favor, and fill each and every pair with candies!

By night's end, everyone had learned something new about Italian and French holiday traditions—with Claude reaping the added lesson that he's welcome back in Millsberry, anytime!