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Happy New Year!

January 1, 2014

Happy 2014 to everyone! May this year bring you love, luck and prosperity. After receiving sad news concerning one of my mom’s former colleagues, please take the time to enjoy your family and friends in the days to come. All the best as we tackle another year.

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Posted by asduncan

The Weekly Special N°2

December 16, 2013

Here is the second post for The Weekly Special.

This chapel is around the corner from my in-laws in Haute-Loire and adjacent to a run-down château. I don’t know how many times I’ve walked by this scene, but finally decided to snap a picture of it during my last visit to Ste. Sigolène.

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A Happy Reminder…

December 12, 2013

Since I had to deal with Lyon bureaucracy for part of the morning, I thought I would post some more pictures of one of the better things about living here.

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Posted by asduncan

La Fête des Lumières

December 10, 2013

The Weekly Special is a new section that is dedicated to photographs from the past and present. Lyon just finished its Fête des Lumières (The Festival of Lights), so this Special contains more than one picture.

The origins of the festival date back to 1643 when the Virgin Mary is believed to have saved the city from the Black Plaque. Ever since, an annual solemn procession makes its way up the city-dominating Fourvière Hill to light candles and give offerings to the Virgin. The event became popular in 1852 when a statue of Mary was placed on the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Fourvière. The dedication of the statue was to be held on September 8^th; however flooding of the Saône prevented the ceremony from taking place. The event was pushed to December 8^th, a day reserved for celebrating the Immaculate Conception, so the Lyonnais could applaud two things at once. The prominent Catholics of the time suggested lighting up the façades of their homes as was traditionally done for major events such as royal processions and military victories. The tradition stuck.

Every December 8^th, thousands of candles are lined up on windowsills throughout Lyon to pay homage to Mary. The one day of gratitude has now grown into a four-day festival that attracts an average of four million visitors every year.

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Atlantis Thanksgiving 2013

November 29, 2013

Last night was the traditional Atlantis Thanksgiving that I organize every year. Thirty students from Sweden, France, Germany, Poland and the United States got to together share thanks, thoughts and turkey. The meal had a Franco-American twist, but everyone was content to take a break from studying before stumbling back into the cold Lyonnais night.