| A | B |
|---|
| l'anniversaire | birthday; yearly observance of a special event |
| l'Armistice | Armistice Day, November 11 (end of WWI); US: Veterans' Day |
| l'Avent | the coming of Christ: the 24 days before Christmas |
| la Carême | Lent, period of 40 days of penance from Ash Wednesday to Easter |
| le Chanukkah | Hanukkah, Jewish 8-day "feast of lights" in December |
| l'Épiphanie | Epiphany; twelfth day of Christmas; January 6, when the wise men found the Christ child |
| la fête | festival, holiday, celebration; birthday |
| la fête des Rois | "the feast of kings"; Epiphany, January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas; when the 3 wise men found the Christ child |
| le jour de l'An | New Year's Day, January 1 |
| Mardi Gras/Carnaval/Vaval | "Fat Tuesday" or the last day of feasting before Ash Wednesday (the start of Lent); Mardi Gras is US and northern French; Carnaval is southern French; Vaval is Québecois (Canada) |
| le mercredi des Cendres | Ash Wednesday, 40 days before Easter, the start of Lent (in February or March, depending on the moon's phases) |
| le Noël | Christmas |
| les Pâques | Easter, the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring (in March or April, depending on the moon's phases) |
| le premier mai | May Day, the first of May, French Labor Day |
| les Rameaux | Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter (in March or April) |
| la Rentrée | the first day of school; Homecoming |
| la Saint-Patrick | St. Patrick's Day, March 17 |
| la Saint-Valentin | (St.) Valentine's Day, February 14 |
| la Toussaint | All Saints' Day, November 1 |
| la veille de Toussaint | All Saints' Eve, October 31 (US/Canada: Halloween) |
| le vendredi Saint | Good Friday, Holy Friday, the Friday before Easter (day of the Crucifixion) |
| le 14 juillet | Bastille Day, July 14 (1789), French independence day |
| la St-Jean Baptiste | St. John the Baptist's Day, June 4 (Québecois holiday, Canada) |
| le poisson d'avril | April Fool, April 1, a day of tricks and jokes |
| faire la fête | to live it up, to party, to have a good time, to celebrate |
| joyeux Noël | Merry Christmas (US); Happy Christmas (UK) |
| joyeux anniversaire | happy birthday |
| anniversaire de mariage | wedding anniversary |
