Saint-Fiacre
The Saint Fiacre Festival, dedicated to horticulture is celebrated during European Heritage Days. The city of Sens is decorated with flowers, bouquets and superb floral arrangements to celebrate the patron saint of gardeners, Saint Fiacre. This traditional celebration takes place all over France, but is particularly special here. In Sens, the cathedral is lavishly decorated with flowers and a parade of floats and carts cross the city.
The Saint-Fiacre Celebrations begin at Saint-Etienne cathedral with a big mass, celebrated by the archbishop himself, accompanied by hunting corns and an orchestra. Especially for the occasion, the 18 pillars of the cathedral and choir are decorated with huge bouquets. Saint-Fiacre Chapel is decorated with a mountain of squash, it’s pretty impressive and a great photo opportunity! There are around thirty carts and floats down the central aisle, full of flowers.
A lively crowd gathers to see this surprising display. The cathedral is packed!
Then, the floats and carts are displayed in front of the cathedral, before taking part in a grand parade full of flowers, from the Rue de la République to the Parc du Moulin à Tan. They are on display for a whole week.
A few figures to get your head spinning!
- 20,000 aster, 500 dahlias, 35 squash varieties, 750 gladioli, 200 chrysanthemums are used every year to decorate the cathedral and the carts.
- 1.5 tonnes of apples are picked in the Sénonais region to be pressed in the Parc du Moulin à Tan, making around 750 litres of juice!
- Almost 5,500 people come to the Moulin à Tan Park for this day!
A religious and popular tradition
This celebration originally began in the Middle Ages. Saint-Fiacre, an Irish monk, founded a monastery in the region of Meaux in the 7th century. It was believed that he had the powers of a healer and grower. He can be seen in a number of churches, holding a spade and a book in his hands.
