
Different countries have different celebrations. Some of these celebrations have been going on for hundreds of years, while others have started recently.
The ‘Orange-Lemon Festival’ held every year in February in the city of Menton, France is also a celebration with such a short history, but famous all over the world. This festival is attended by thousands of people including local and foreign tourists.
In 1875, the owners of several hotels along the Mediterranean Coast in the South-East of France proposed to the local administration that a festival should be started for the winter season.
According to that proposal, a festival started in Menton’s coastal area from 1876. The festival attracted large numbers of wealthy people from France as well as other countries who visited the area to during the winter. It is said that spending the winter season in that area had become a fashion for many people at that time.
By the early 1880s, the carnival was extremely popular with royalty and famous artists. During the festival, they stayed in their own apartments or star-class hotels in the city and spent the winter. Queen Victoria, who ruled many countries including Great Britain at that time, also participated in this festival held in 1882. A special firework display has also been held during the festival to mark her participation. In addition to Queen Victoria, many heads of State and other famous people from different countries had attended the festival.
In the late 1920s, Menton had become the largest orange-producing city in Europe. The cultivation of high quality oranges, lemons and limes in the city and surrounding areas greatly increased during this time. By then, the number of people participating in the festival had increased to tens of thousands. Therefore, a famous hotel owner in the city planned to hold a flower and orange exhibition to attract people.
Exhibition
In 1928, he held a huge exhibition using flowers native to France and oranges and lemons harvested from Menton plantations. Thousands of tourists participated in that exhibition and he earned a large income. Seeing the success of the fair, the local administrative agency organised a festival in the following year, 1929, with a large-scale display of flowers and oranges, which later became the ‘Orange-Lemon Festival’.
The festival was not held on several occasions due to various reasons. It was not held during World War II, from 1940 to 1946, and in 1991, the Menton City Council decided not to hold it due to the Gulf War. Since then, the festival, which has been going on for many years, was not held in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At present, the quantity of oranges and lemons produced in the areas surrounding the city of Menton is numerically lower, but their quality is very high.
That is why many star class hotels around the world order oranges produced in Menton, paying a higher price than for ordinary oranges. As the production of oranges in Menton is relatively low, the oranges and lemons needed for this festival are imported from other countries.
Flowers, Love, Seasons, Music, History of Menton, Lemons and Chinese, Ride on the Moon, Cinema, Stories and Legends, Wonders of the World, Mediterranean Myths and Legends, Disneyland, Tin Tin (Cartoon Character), Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Bollywood, world famous festivals, different regions of France, great civilisations, world’s most famous islands and legends associated with the sea are prominent among the unique themes based on which this festival was organised in the recent past.
Held annually as a carnival, the festival features elements of a traditional carnival and many elements that reflect Menton’s reputation for orange production. Menton City Council finances the festival and prepares it months in advance. Most of the oranges and lemons required for the multi-themed carnival are imported from Spain.
Models
The metre-high models and flower beds covered with oranges and lemons are the most unique feature of this festival. The main purpose of the two-week festival is to celebrate the harvest of the special orange and lemons grown in Menton. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs of the country worked to name this festival, which is held in February every year, as an intangible cultural heritage in 2019.
The Orange Festival related to this year was held recently with the theme ‘Rock and Opera’. It started on February 11, and continued till February 26. It was attended by over 240,000 local and foreign visitors. Most of the oranges and lemons used for the festival are in good condition for consumption by the end of the two weeks, so they are sold at a lower price at the end of the fair.