National and Public Holidays in France are as follows.

Most of France's population used to be Catholic, and this is reflected in the calendar of holidays, which mark several major Catholic celebrations. With the waning importance of religious practice, many of those holidays have lost their religious meaning in the general population.

Anniversaries of the armistices of the World Wars
On May 8 and November 11, the dead and wounded of the Second and First World War are respectively honored. Delegations lay wreaths on the monuments to the dead of both wars, which abound throughout the country: each village, college, administration, etc., tends to have its own monument.

National holiday
July 14 is the national day, simply called Fête nationale or 14 juillet (though it is generally referred to as Bastille Day in English). Many cities hold fireworks during the night. It is also customary that firefighters organize dancing parties (bals du 14 juillet).

Military parades are held on July 14 morning, the largest of which takes place on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic.

All Saints'
On All Saints' day (Toussaint) or the following day All Souls' Day (fête des morts), families lay flowers on the tombs of their deceased relatives.

A recent import is the celebration of Halloween, which is controversial. Critics of the celebration of Halloween oppose it for a variety of reasons:

• It interferes with the celebration of Christian All Saints' Day
  
• It interferes with the honors to the dead
  
• Iit is a import of foreign, American, mores
  
• Most notably, the celebration of Halloween in France was marketed by companies selling candy and Halloween accessories in order to boost their revenue; critics therefore argue that this adds yet another financial superfluous burden on families.
  

End of the year
On the eve of Christmas (Noël), most families with a Christian background (but not necessarily Christian) have a long family dinner (réveillon), where special or luxury dishes (foie gras, oysters, escargots, game...) are often consumed. Gifts are then deposed under the Christmas tree, to be recovered on Christmas morning by children (and often adults). Christians may attend the midnight mass.

The Christmas tree and other decorations are generally prepared in advanced. Cities, towns, villages, schools, etc. generally put out Christmas decorations; the ones installed by major cities such as Paris can be very impressive.

On the night before New Year's Day (the evening of Saint Sylvester's day, la Saint-Sylvestre), many people have another réveillon with friends, in a festive atmosphere. Many cities hold fireworks at midnight. The two réveillons are generally collectively referred to as the "end-of-year festivities" (fêtes de fin d'année). In schools and corporations, it is often the case that the workplace cafeteria will have some special meal at some point shortly before Christmas.

In some areas Eastern France, the custom is not to hand out presents at Christmas, but at Saint Nicholas' day. Also, in some families, the custom is not to give Christmas presents, but étrennes, or beginning-of-the-year presents; this used to be especially true in families that, for some reason, wanted to make a statement that they were not Christian.

Beginning of the year
Traditionally, individuals exchange best wishes greeting cards at the beginning of the years. People in a leadership position, the foremost of which the President of the Republic, make a speech in which they express their wishes (vœux) for their fellow citizens, employees, etc. and in which they may delineate some of their policy for the upcoming year.