Les Lavandieres
Okay kiddo, today let's learn about something called "les lavandieres." You know how we wash our clothes in the washing machine or take them to the dry cleaners? Well, before these modern machines were invented, people used to have to wash their clothes by hand and then hang them up to dry.
One particular group of people in France who did this job were called "les lavandieres," which means "the washerwomen" in French. They were mostly women who would go down to the river, lake, or a communal washing place called a "lavoir," where they would scrub and beat the clothes clean using soap, water, and a big wooden paddle or "battoir."
Sometimes they would sing while working or tell stories to keep themselves entertained. Once the clothes were clean, they would hang them up on lines or bushes to dry.
Being a lavandiere was hard work, but it was also an important job because people needed clean clothes to wear. Nowadays, we are lucky to have machines to do this work for us, so we don't need to spend hours scrubbing and beating clothes clean by hand like les lavandieres used to do.
One particular group of people in France who did this job were called "les lavandieres," which means "the washerwomen" in French. They were mostly women who would go down to the river, lake, or a communal washing place called a "lavoir," where they would scrub and beat the clothes clean using soap, water, and a big wooden paddle or "battoir."
Sometimes they would sing while working or tell stories to keep themselves entertained. Once the clothes were clean, they would hang them up on lines or bushes to dry.
Being a lavandiere was hard work, but it was also an important job because people needed clean clothes to wear. Nowadays, we are lucky to have machines to do this work for us, so we don't need to spend hours scrubbing and beating clothes clean by hand like les lavandieres used to do.