Mother's Day- Fêtes des Mères - - May 25, 2014 By Sue Aran

"In a place where food is worshipped, it was not easy to find a simple meal on Sunday, May 26th, last year. While some friends were visiting from the States, my husband and I decided to do a little sight-seeing with them in search of a wonderful out of the way auberge or restaurant in a picturesque village on the eastern edge of the Gers department. We had no idea it was Mother's Day since it had already been celebrated in the United States. We took a leisurely drive through the bucolic countryside to the village of Mirande and arrived at out favorite Italian restaurant at 11, with what we thought was enough time to make a reservation for midi, noon, and walk around the village proper. When I opened the door to the restaurant I was met by a hostess who immediately said, "Nous sommes complets." We are full. Sticking her head out of the door, she pointed directions to two other restaurants, saying we might find a table with either. Disappointed, I told my friends the restaurant was completely full and the hostess said we might find something around the corner. At both of the restaurants around the corner we were met with the same hasty response, "Nous sommes complets." Hustling back to the car we checked the map for the nearest village and drove off for Mielan. There were no restaurants in Mielan nor any in Trie-sur-Baïse that had room for 4 more people, though at the last one we tried, we finally were told, emphatically, it was Mother's Day, with an attitude of, what bumpkin truck did you fall off of after the aliens dropped you from their spaceship - don't you know it's Mother's Day?! Well, pardonnez-moi, bien sur, of course, we were bumpkins dropped from a space ship in the middle of southern France without a calendar of holidays. Realizing we might not have enough time to find somewhere to have lunch before the clock struck 2 and kitchens closed with synchronistically slammed doors, we consulted the map again and drove to Masseube. The parking lot was full, so my friends idled in the car while I checked inside. The hostess said they had one table for four left. I told the hostess we'd take the table and went back outside to park the car and hurry everyone inside. Once seated we were given menus. The special Mother's Day meal was a prix fixe, set price, which included an appetizer, first course with three choices - chicken, beef or fish - salad and cheese plate, wine, dessert and coffee for 25 euros per person. We all thought this was highway robbery for the countryside, but considering we didn't think we had any choices left, we decided to splurge and hoped it was worth every centime. When the waitress approached our table ready to take our orders, I asked if I could skip the main course since I was a vegetarian and have everything else. The waitress raised one eyebrow and scurried off to the kitchen, returning with an emphatic, "Non!" I repeated, "Non?" I said I would pay for the entire prix fixe meal regardless. The waitress scurried back to the kitchen, we heard a few plates crash, then she returned and promptly grabbed our menus while pointing to the door. We were speechless. All four of us rose from the table shaking our heads in disbelief and quietly left. In Seissan we passed a pizzeria. It was open, but there was only one car out front which didn't bode well, so we continued down the road to Lasseube-Propre. We drove through the village without seeing any services, let alone a restaurant, before we could even pronounce its name. We were all hungry, fed up, and in need of a bathroom break when we approached Pavie, the last village of any note before reaching Auch, the capital of the Gers department. The time was 10 minutes to 2. Off to the left I saw a large sign that said Les Tapa Restaurant and pulled the car into their lot. My husband went inside this time and came back almost immediately. The hostess said they had room, the time didn't matter and even though they also had a prix fixe menu, they would be willing to let me choose a salad from their regular menu. We breathed a collective sigh of relief. After we were well sated and the plates were cleared we read our placements, which in honor of Mother's Day in France, Fête des Mères, the restaurant had printed with a history of the holiday. A French law since 1950, Fêtes des Mères originally dates back to the ancient Greeks who honored Rhea, the mother of the gods, Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Hestia, Hades, and Demeter. In 1806, Napoléon, declared a holiday in spring to honor his mother, Maria Letizia Ramolino, as well as all mother's, who raised citizens for the future of France. Roses became the favored gift for Mother's Day after Pierre-Joseph Redouté painted exquisite botanicals from Napoléon's wife, Joséphine's gardens at Malmaison. The holiday fell into disfavor after Joséphine died leaving Napoléon without any sons and wasn't revived until a century later in the village of Artas situated in the Isère department. In1906, a union was founded there, called the Union Fraternelle, in order to pay tribute to large families in and around Artas. Twelve years later in Lyon, a holiday was organized to honor all of the women who lost sons and husbands during WWI. A few years later, Mother's Day returned, but this time with an emphasis for women to have a lot of children in order to repopulate France after the astonishing loss of male lives during the war. During WWII, Marshal Pétain launched another campaign to repopulate France, but the holiday was controversial because it was initiated under the reviled Vichy Regime. And finally, on May 24, 1950, Mother's Day, was officially written into law by Charles de Gaulle and fixed as the last Sunday in May unless it falls on Pentecost, when it's moved to the first Sunday in June. This year in France, Fêtes des Mères, Mother's Day, falls on Sunday, May 25th. Customary gifts include, flowers, cakes, chocolates, poems, perfume and special meals at restaurants…reservations required." (Source: http://www.bonjourparis.com/story/mothers-day-fetes-des-meres-may-25-2014/) . . .