LES FÊTES DE SAINT NICOLAS

St Nicolas is patron of Lorraine and Ville de Nancy celebrates this in style. It's a two day event with lots of street theatre, Lorraine opera singing Christmas songs, free soup? gigantic articulated animals, parades and of course fireworks/son et lumière etc. etc. It's all great fun with tens of thousands of people turning up, especially for the fireworks. They were awesome. A few of the events:

Tiny bus giving trips around the town, it carried about 8 people and tooted its way through the crowd. Somehow it brought a smile to everyones face.

Les Garçons race. All the local cafés, bars and restaurants waiting staff enter this ~2 kilometre race holding a tray with a bottle, a glass, a coffee cup and saucer and a newspaper. Plus of course a St Nicolas beard. Lots of shouting and rivalry.

Camels, elephants, large indeterminate birds and bizarre machines some human powered.

Local resident warming next to a brazier.