By the time Mel Torme got around to writing The Christmas Song, people here in the states were no longer roasting chestnuts over open fires. No, by 1946, the American chestnut had been thoroughly decimated by a nasty blight called Cryphonectria parasitiea. The tradition, however—we’re talking about roasting chestnuts—endured nicely a few thousand miles east of us. In the fashion of the French countryside, Eric Viandier has been roasting chestnuts here for several years as we celebrate the approaching holidays.
Here, his French 3 class joins with Janet Linn's class to sing carols in French while roasting chestnuts over an open fire.
