Santons

---

A santon is a small hand-painted figurine cast in terracotta or a similar material that is used for building nativity scenes. Santons are a traditional product of the Provence region of southeastern France. A maker of santons is called a santonnier. The word "santon" comes from the Provençal "santoun," or "little saint." They became popular during the French Revolution, when the churches were closed and the larger, traditional nativity scenes in churches prohibited. Smaller figurines began appearing in homes, and quickly gained popularity. The traditional manufacture of santons is centred on Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Arles and Aubagne. In the month leading up to Christmas, there are traditional santon fairs all over Provence where santons of all sizes can be acquired to decorate domestic creches. Apart from the standard figures and animals associated with the nativity (including elephants and camels), there are countless other santons depicting traditional characters from Provençal village life, including the motley fool, the miller and the blind man. Another common figure is a shepherd facing the mistral and the other winds of Provence, holding his hat, with his cloak blowing.

---

Article title : Santon (figurine)
"Commons has media related to Santons (figurines). "Christmas in France". World Book, Inc., 1995. ISBN 0-7166-0876-6. The Santons of Provence - The official..."
Article title : Davide Santon
"Davide Santon (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdaːvide sanˈton]; born 2 January 1991) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a left wing-back..."
Article title : Santon
"Santon may refer to: Santon (figurine), a small figurine cast in terracotta or a similar material Santon (Transformers), a fictional Beast Wars character..."
Article title : Thiago Motta
"Thiago Motta (Brazilian Portuguese: [tʃiˈaɡu ˈmɔtɐ]; Italian: [ˈtjaːɡo ˈmɔtta]; born 28 August 1982) is a professional football manager and former player..."
Article title : Santon Bridge
"Santon Bridge is a small village in Cumberland, Cumbria, England, at a bridge over the River Irt. The civil parish is called Irton with Santon. The population..."
Article title : Santón
"Santón (possibly from Quechua for Puya raimondii) is a 5,238-metre-high (17,185 ft) mountain in the southern Cordillera Blanca in the Andes of Peru. It..."
Article title : Santon Downham
"Santon Downham is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. In 2005 it had a population of 240. The village..."
Article title : Penny Santon
"Rosa Novelli in the American crime drama television series Matt Houston. Santon died in May 1999 in Burbank, California, at the age of 82. Interrupted Melody..."
Article title : Malew and Santon
"and Santon. This was slightly unusual since Malew and Santon are in different sheadings. The constituency was abolished in 2016. "Malew and Santon (2011)"..."
Article title : Santon Burn
"Santon Burn is a watercourse in the Isle of Man. This small river, or burn, has its origins in the waters of Eairy in the parish of Marown (Ordnance Survey..."

---