The santons of Provence

The word comes from the Provençal santoun, “little saint”. Santons are clay figurines, painted by hand, that families set out every winter around the Christmas crib. But the Provençal crib is not limited to the Holy Family: a whole village sets off towards the stable.

A tradition born of a ban

During the Revolution, churches were closed and midnight masses forbidden for a few years. Cribs left the churches and moved into homes, and cheap figurines were needed to fill them. In Marseille, the santon-maker Jean-Louis Lagnel (1764–1822) is traditionally credited with popularising small moulded clay santons that every family could afford.

As early as 1803, a santon fair was held in Marseille. It still exists: every year, from late November to late December, santon-makers show their figures there.

A whole village

Around the infant Jesus you find the shepherds and their sheep, but also the trades of the village, each with a gift:

• the ravi, arms raised to the sky, amazed by the birth, often presented as the village simpleton;
• the tambourinaire with his galoubet, the little three-hole flute;
• the miller with his sack of flour, the fishwife and her basket, the knife-grinder;
• the blind man led by his son, and the old farming couple arriving by cart.

The figures vary from one family to another; many are handed down from generation to generation, chipped and repainted.

How they are made

The santon-maker prepares a plaster mould from a sculpted model. Clay is pressed into it, turned out, trimmed, then dried slowly before being fired or simply dried, depending on the workshop. Then comes the painting, by hand, often in several passes, with the faces last. The larger “dressed santons” wear real sewn clothes.

The crib season

In many Provençal families the crib goes up at the beginning of December and stays until Candlemas, on 2 February. That is the end of the Calendale cycle, described in the seasons section.