On St. Nicholas Eve, kids put their shoes near the chimney to be filled with sweet treats while they sleep.
France in the 17th century. The 17th Century in Europe was pretty rough in a lot of ways. This study of the Catholic Church and religious life in eighteenth‐century France seeks to ‘recapture the atmosphere of the times, and to appreciate the beliefs, aspirations, hopes, and fears of four generations.

In the 17th century the power of the French king grew and grew and by the end of the 17th century France had an absolute monarchy.

... During this time, Catherine recorded how she became aware of a convent of English religious women in the town. Throughout the seventeenth century, the Dutch Republic was a unique safe place for those persecuted elsewhere for religious reasons. New ideas clashed with old, and where religion was tied up with politics … 17th-century nuns on the run. Life was hard and misery imposed itself on majority of the population. ... Protestants believed that Sunday should be full of religious observances and very little leisure or recreation. Discover librarian-selected research resources on Seventeenth-Century France from the Questia online library, including full-text online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. It was a troubled time for France. These states employed relatively large mercenary armies, and the war became less about religion and more of a continuation of the France-Habsburg rivalry for European political pre-eminence. What reactions did this fact provoke from society? In the 17th century, religious beliefs and practices were a much larger influence on an average European. The European wars of religion were a series of Christian religious wars which were waged in Europe during the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries. However war was not the only problem in late 16th century France. The 17th century was a time of revolution in European religion, science and philosophy. Fought after the Protestant Reformation began in 1517, the wars disrupted the religious and political order in the Catholic countries of Europe. The situation described above and the groups enumerated give us an idea as to how poverty was really a generalized condition in 17th century France. Food That 17th Century French Peasants Ate; Religion and Dress; St. Nicholas Day. Père Noël, or Father Christmas, visits each home.

There were also a number of poor harvests and in the 1580s and 1590s, epidemics. Not only minority Christians, but even Jews could practice their religion generally free from harassment and threat of violence, and religious minorities had rights unparalleled elsewhere in Europe. Many of the British North American colonies that eventually formed the United States of America were settled in the seventeenth century by men and women, who, in the face of European persecution, refused to compromise passionately held religious convictions and fled Europe. France vs. England 17th Century. For many, the Christmas season in France begins with St. Nicholas Day on December 6th. Home » Browse » History » European History » France » 17th and 18th Century France » Seventeenth-Century France James I believed that recreation and sports were innocent activities and permitted them to be played on Sunday, which infuriated the Protestant religions.