Celebrates lights

The festival of the lights is a popular demonstration which is held the evening of December 8th with Lyon (France).

History

Origins of the veneration with Marie

The town of Lyon venerates the Virgin Mary since the Moyen-âge and was put under its protection in 1643, year when the south of the France was touched by the Peste: the alderman S of Lyon, the Prévôt of the merchants and the notable ones made wish then pay homage each year to the Virgin if the epidemic of plague ceased.

Since, a municipal solemn procession goes to the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière since the Midsummer's Day Cathedral each September 8th (and not on December 8th), day of dedication of the city to the Virgin, to offer candles and ecus of gold to him.

First illuminations of December 8th

In 1852, is inaugurated the statue of the Virgin Mary set up on the vault of the hill of Fourvière. Realized by the sculptor Joseph-Hugues Fabisch, she was proposed by some notable Lyoneses and catholic enthusiasts then accepted by the cardinal of Bonald in 1850. The inauguration of the statue should have taken place the September 8th 1852 , feastday of the nativity of the Virgin and date birthday of the wish of the aldermen of 1643. But a rising of the the Saone would have prevented that it is ready this day and that the ceremony is carried out. The archbishop's palace, in agreement with the commission of laic, then chooses to defer the inauguration to the date of the December 8th .

However, on December 8th is the date of the festival of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, celebrates celebrated in Lyon since the IXe century, even if the proclamation of the dogma goes back only to 1846. The days which precede the inauguration, all is in place for the festivities: the statue must be enlightened by Bengal lights, one envisages fires of artifices since the top of the hill and from the Fanfare S will play in the streets. The notable Lyons catholics propose to illuminate the frontages of their houses like that is done traditionally for the great events (entered royal, military victories…).

But here that, on December 8th in the morning, a violent one storm falls down on Lyon. The Master of the ceremonies decides all at once to cancel and defer the night rejoicings to next Sunday. Then, finally, the sky is cleared and the Lyons population which had awaited this ceremony so much, of a spontaneous gesture, illuminates its windows, goes down in the streets and some Bengal lights lit with haste light the statue and the vault of Our-Lady-of-Fourvière (the basilica does not exist yet). The Lyoneses sing canticles and shout " Live Marie! " until late in the night.

Regular confusions

The historians and sociologists will be interested in confusions which the Lyoneses (those make which are not from here: everyone cannot be of Lyon, one needs of it Ben of a little everywhere ) as for the origin of this festival: often the mixture of the wishes to the Virgin and the lapse of memory of the dates make go up the origin of the Illuminations, even the creation of the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière, with a wish pronounced after an epidemic of plague which would have prevailed with the XIXe century.

Continuation of the tradition

Since 1852, the festival was renewed each year. The tradition wants that each Lyons family preserves from now on with her decorations of Christmas, its set of glasses of December 8th, thick and sometimes coloured. As of November, one finds in the stores of the bags of these famous candles short and grooved like cakes, as well as sets of glasses. The evening of December 8th, the Bougie S are lit and placed in glasses deposited on the edge of the windows.

Since the municipality of Michel Noir in 1989, the spontaneous festival is accompanied by the animations suggested by the municipality and the professionals by the spectacle, which are spread out over several days. These animations made that this festival was of a tourist nature also , attracting several million visitors each year. The popular participation remains nevertheless very present because of the many enlightened frontages and of the ambulations the evening of December 8th. Let us note that certain Lyoneses fustigate the expenditure of electricity carried out on this occasion, that they estimate considerable and superfluous.

The festival did not cease since becoming extensive and the presence, these last years, national and international originators of reputation illustrates well the international radiation growing of this demonstration. Extended from now on over 4 days, " Lyon December 8th - Festival of Lumières" animate all the districts and offers in all the city of the Scénographie S and the spectacles of light innovating and surprising, on traditional or strange sites. In 2003, more than 3 million people assisted to with it, and of the edition 2006, more than 4 million.

Southern Heavent, the living room of the professionals of the event, organized, on March 29th, 2007 with the Palate of the Cannes festivals, the first edition of the trophies of the event. The Festival of the Lights was seen decreeing the trophy of the better event General public 2006 !

External bonds

Official site: Presentation of the festival of the lights, programs, plan etc
Photos of the festival of the lights
Photos of the festival of the Lights, Lyon 2006

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