France's version of Santa Claus is Père Noel (Father Christmas), or depending on who you ask, le Petit Noel (the Christ Child, though a more literal translation would yield "The Lit'lest Christmas"). Yes, the competitive spirit of Christmas is alive and well in France, where Santa must battle the baby Jesus Himself for the thankless job of giving free big-ticket items to thankless delinquents. French children may be treated to the festive sight of Jesus in their backyards, administering a flying tackle to an unaware Santa en route to the chimney.

On Christmas Eve, children place traditional wooden shoes in front of the fireplace for either Père Noel or baby Jesus to fill with gifts. The tradition of applying lacquer and paint to tinder-dry wooden shoes and setting them near a fireplace seems to be an old one. If problems have ever arisen from placing easily combustible footwear near an open flame, no one has survived long enough to relate them. Nor, due to lax Christ-child labor laws, does anyone seem overly concerned with an infant jumping down their chimneys into a roaring fire.