Saint Mary Magdalene And The Navettes Of Chandeleur

Just when I have savoured the very last crumb of those buttery galettes that I love, I start thinking about the Saint Mary Magdalene inspired navettes and crepes to celebrate the Festival of Lights on February 2nd, called Chandeleur.

The name comes from the word in French for candlelight; aux chandelles.

The majority of the French celebrate the holiday with only crepes, for as the end of January approaches, displays of flours, orange liqueurs,  jams and crepes pans abound in supermarkets.

In Marseille and the rest of Provence, along with crepes, the most traditional symbolic food is the delicious little cookie shaped liked a boat called Navettes , because of the legend around the arrival of Mary Magdalene with the other Maries!

You might wonder what in the world do boats have to do with Saint Mary Magdalene?   Well actually a lot according to the traditional belief in Provence since 40 AD.

I had been intrigued of the story back in the 80’s when I began doing spiritual retreats at La Sainte Baume, and the grotto of Saint Mary Magdalene near the Mediterranean coast.

At the Basilica of Saint Victor in Marseille, in addition to the traditional Catholic Festival of Lights commemorating the Purification of the Blessed Virgin and the Presentation of Jesus to the temple, they also commemorate the arrival of the three Maries.

Legend has it that  Saint Mary Magdalene, her sister Martha, brother Lazarus,Joseph of Arimathea, Marie Salome, Marie Jacobe, Maximin and the servant Sarah, amongst others arrived by boat without oars from the Holy Land after the crucifixion of Christ around 40 AD.

They all landed at Saintes Maries de la Mer, which is a coastal town southwest of Marseille in the Camargue region.  From there Mary Magdalene headed towards Marseille, then on the grotto at Sainte Baume, where she is attributed to having Christianized the whole south of France.

Saint Martha headed north towards Avignon and then Tarascon, where she is venerated there.  Lazarus became the first Bishop of Marseille.  Joseph of Arimathea went northwest and finally became the hermit Saint Amadour in Rocamadour, which I described in detail in a previous post.

Maximin  went to  Saint Maximin  La Sainte Baume, which is named after him.  It is there that  the Basilica  houses the relics of Saint Mary Magdalene.

Sarah stayed in Saintes Maries de la Mer with Marie Salome and Marie Jacobe and is the venerated Saint of the Gypsies, where her statue is carried in procession into the sea each May 24 th.

In Marseille, chandeleur starts in the darkness of the early morning at the ancient port celebrating the arrival of the boat with the “three Maries”.  

Then there is a torchlight procession carrying Notre Dame de Confession, Marseille’s Black Virgin to Saint Victor’s Basilica, where they stop at the bakery close to the church to bless the Navettes and the bakery as seen in the photo.

This bakery, Four des Navettes is the oldest in Marseille and has been baking the Navettes since 1781.  After arriving in front of the Basilica, the green candles are blessed, and all proceed inside for the Mass.

Supposedly there is a tradition to try to keep your green candle burning till you return home, which must be difficult with all the cold wind blowing off the Mediterranean, especially if there is the mistral like wind predicted this coming thursday.

Once home with your still lit candle, tradition has it that you bless each room of your house with the sign of the cross and prayers.

Since I like both crepes and navettes, I make them both to celebrate the day.  As mentioned earlier these cookies are made with orange flower water.

I trekked off to La Grande Epicerie to buy the real l’eau au fleur d’oranger, which is a distillation of the Neroli flowers that are beautifully perfumed.

I refuse to use the aromatised variety often used in place.  I also like to use it to make a cafe blanc, which is a hot infusion of water and a tablespoon or soon of the orange flower water. It is supposed to having calming soothing effects, is great for  insomnia and I love the smell!

My crepes contribution is generally crepes stuffed with Grand Marnier souffle,(photo above)which you can use that liqueur also use to makes Crepes Suzette.  The souffle mixture is not going to rise as much tucked into a crepe, and it will deflate much quicker that a souffle retained in a hot souffle dish.

I have wanted to go to Marseille and participate in their procession but have not made it yet. I have though been to Saintes Marie de la Mer to visit the venerated Saint Sarah, again not during the famous procession into the sea.

There are many recipes for Navettes, some made with just olive oil, and some made with butter.  I made some using a combination of both, as after all this a speciality of Marseille , not Normandy, where you would use only butter!

My Navettes as seen in the photo are certainly cuter than those at those at the bakery, more tender and are not very sweet.  You are supposed to savor the taste of orange flowers, not sugar!

P.S. for those of you interested in the whole story of Saint Mary Magdalene living in La Sainte Baume, read my post about her in my archives on July 21, 2014.