Due to the inclement weather affecting the Cรดte d’Azur today, the Festin des Cougourdons that was scheduled to take place today in the gardens of the Arรจnes de Cimiez has been canceled.
This feast takes place at the beginning of spring, on the Sunday closest to March 25, so this year it will be this Sunday the 24th. Its origin dates back to the desire of the people of Nice to celebrate the Annunciation.
However, this Christian festival was prohibited during the occupation by the Saracens between the 9th and 10th centuries. To circumvent the prohibition, the people invented a celebration of the rebirth of nature.
It was in the 16th century that this plant was introduced into the County of Nice and quickly adopted, not for its taste qualities, but for its usefulness, as once dried and hollowed out, it served as a kitchen utensil.
Today, this festival is very popular, and this inedible gourd, with its various shapes, has inspired artists and even musicians. The cougourdons have become works of art today.
Their market has always been held in front of the Cimiez Monastery from the beginning, and it is therefore on its forecourt that this feast takes place each year, an event that is both secular and religious.
Thierry Jan
