La Soule, also known as choule, is a traditional team sport originating in Normandy, Brittany and Picardy. Team mates cooperate to beat the other team Team sport is a term used to distinguish between sports based on one-on-one direct confrontation (such as most raquet sports, boxing or Martial arts) or timed races (such as athletics or swimming), as opposed to those which are practiced between... Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site and a symbol of Normandy Normandy is a former country (a Duchy) situated in northern France occupying the lower Seine area (upper or Haute-Normandie) and the region to the west (lower or Basse-Normandie) as far as the Cotentin Peninsula. ... Traditional coat of arms This article is about the historical duchy and French province, as well as the cultural area of Brittany. ... Categories: Stub | Regions of France ...

The ball called a "soule" could be solid or hollow and made of either wood or leather. Leather balls would be filled with hay, bran, horse hair or moss.

Some varieties of choule use a stick or bat to aid propulsion of the ball.

At Bellou-en-Houle contestants numbered up to 800 and there were said to be 6000 spectators. The ball was 3 ft around and weighed 13 pounds. In this game the losing side would often cut the ball in half with their knives. To prevent this the ball was sheathed in tin from 1841. 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The game was usually played on Shrove Tuesday, it was also, as in Britain, on occasion played at weddings and the day of the patron Saint of the parish, Easter day, Christmas Day and sometimes Boxing day. In the Christian calendar, Shrove Tuesday is the English name for the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which in turn marks the beginning of Lent. ... In several forms of Christianity, a patron saint has special affinity for a trade or group. ...

The object of the game was to get the soule to the parish goal which was often a pond, and immerse it in the water, the old belief was that the winning parish or village would be favoured a more abundant apple harvest.

External link

• Tèqueurs et chouleurs de Normandie (http://monsite.wanadoo.fr/jeuxtranormandie/page3.html) - Photos from an association promoting codified versions of traditional games for adults and children