Is a school really a school if it doesn’t have a Christmas program?

I still can’t believe this is happening. My French school is having a “Fête De Noël” (Christmas party) on Thursday evening. No problem... I will be there. About a week ago they started asking who would be attending. I felt a little pressure about it, for example, one student who said she would not be there was asked “Well why not?” and in America, that would be considered a bit rude, don’t you think? It’s really none of anyone’s business why you cannot/don’t want to attend a Christmas party. Maybe it’s the ‘school’ mentality... teacher’s demanding an excuse... who knows?

My initial answer to the question of whether or not I would be there was, “well, that is the day that my children are getting in from the states…” thinking that would somehow absolve me from attending, or at least muster a sympathetic pang. Non! It only mustered a “well bring them!”. Not a really bad idea since this is the same school Kate attended when she was here this summer. So I made our reservations rather than get scolded for non-compliance.

Now that we are all committed, RSVPs sealed in blood, they drop the bomb. We will be having a “spectacle”. I’m not exactly sure the EXACT meaning of what a "spec-tak-luh” is (with all the hidden implications) but they sure do use that word a lot. So in class yesterday we practiced singing our French song that we would be performing at the Fête De Noël. Didn’t I do that very thing in 5th grade? Didn’t I hate it then? How in the world did I find myself in this predicament now??

So, this song is not Frère Jacque, nor Sur le pont d'Avignon, nor a Christmas Carol in french – which you would think makes sense at a Christmas party... but non. This is a 1980s popular song by a guy named Michel Fugain called “Un Beau Roman”.

Is this a bad dream?


from Answers.com
spec·ta·cle (spĕk'tə-kəl) n.
1.
a. Something that can be seen or viewed, especially something of a remarkable or impressive nature.
b. A public performance or display, especially one on a large or lavish scale.
c. A regrettable public display, as of bad behavior: drank too much and made a spectacle of himself.