Good Friday

[Nick Armstrong]

It's always puzzled me that Good Friday isn't a religious holiday in France. They seem to take a holiday at the drop of a religious (or other) hat.

Does anyone know why they don't? (I've asked the question over there and only ever got the verbal equivalent of the Gallic shrug )

[vinteuil]

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... from wiki -

"Critics of laïcité argue that it is a disguised form of anti-clericalism and infringement on individual right to religious expression, and that, instead of promoting freedom of thought and freedom of religion, it prevents the believer from observing his or her religion. Another critique is that, in countries historically dominated by one religious tradition, officially avoiding taking any positions on religious matters favors the dominant religious tradition of the relevant country. Even in the current French Fifth Republic (1958–), school holidays mostly follow the Christian liturgical year, that include Christmas and holiday seasons, though Easter holidays have been replaced by Spring holidays which may or may not include Easter, depending on the vagaries of the liturgical calendar. However, schools have long given leave to students for important holidays of their specific non-majority religions, and food menus served in secondary schools pay particular attention to ensuring that each religious observer may respect his religion's specific restrictions concerning diets."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1905_French_law_on_the_Separation_of_the_Churches_and_the_State

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[Flay]

The tradition of treating Good Friday as a normal work day didn't start until 1905 when the country officially became secular, dividing the Church from the state.

https://www.thelocal.fr/20180330/good-friday-why-only-some-people-are-on-holiday-in-france-today

[Barbirollians]

https://www.thelocal.fr/20180330/goo...n-france-today

More than faintly odd then that they have a day off in the middle of August for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

[Serial_Apologist]

More than faintly odd then that they have a day off in the middle of August for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

As a sceptic I reckon they're just making assumptions there.

[Nick Armstrong]

More than faintly odd then that they have a day off in the middle of August for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Yes. For example! Ascension Day (Thursday 10 May this year) is another...

[greenilex]

The quinze aout is necessary for people to plan their holidays, I think...

[Alain Maréchal]

The quinze aout is necessary for people to plan their holidays, I think...

Absolutely. Any attempt to change that holiday and the resulting chassé-croisé would inconvenience everybody. Agreements in my extended family as to who stays in the holiday property for how long and when (and in which rooms) have been fixed for decades. As the groupings change expand and contract we inherit the previous arrangements. Leave well alone.

I too wonder why Ascension is a holiday in a lay state, but Thursday is a convenient day (only need to book the Friday off work). Do not forget VE Day, All Saints, Armistice and Pentecost - kept on the proper Monday, naturally, unlike in the UK where I was always (and continue to be) confused about when it happens.

A tangent - I was asked by English visitors how a country with so many holidays and short working hours could be so productive. The answer is simple - if a place of work opens at 9am then everybody will be at their workplace and responding to telephone calls at 9am, having already greeted everybody, had coffee, visited the lavatory and discussed last night's television prior to opening time. They stay there until the dot of noon, apart from a short coffee break, and will be in place again at two. During working hours they work. (Also, nobody travels back from their holiday on the Monday morning - that is what Sundays are for).

[Stunsworth]

Also, if the holiday falls on a weekend you lose it, no taking Monday off as a replacement. Obviously not a problem at Easter, but can be at Christmas, where in theory at least you could finish work on Friday and be back on Monday

[ardcarp]

Here's a list of Jours Feries [sorry no accents] in France.

https://www.joursferies.fr/

Not all religious. Bus and train timetables usually have a special column for jours feries..i.e. reduced service.

I had the most splendid restaurant meal on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Morgat about 25 years ago. It was a set menu with multiple courses. The place was packed and the atmosphere great. And at one end of the room was a statue of the BVM decked with jewellery. A mixture of sacred and secular, perhaps strange to us.

[Nick Armstrong]

Thursday is a convenient day (only need to book the Friday off work).

Ah.... le pont !

[Alain Maréchal]

I had the most splendid restaurant meal on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Morgat about 25 years ago. It was a set menu with multiple courses. The place was packed and the atmosphere great. And at one end of the room was a statue of the BVM decked with jewellery. A mixture of sacred and secular, perhaps strange to us.

Bretagne has a long tradition of intense observance of religious feasts, particularly during the summer holiday season with a consequent influx of paying vistors.

[greenilex]

I remember Gauguin’s paintings of Breton religious observances.

[ardcarp]

particularly during the summer holiday season with a consequent influx of paying visitors.

They got me there then...though I think most (all?) of the other PVs were French, as I heard no English spoken.

[Ferretfancy]

As a sceptic I reckon they're just making assumptions there.

There was an assumption, on the part of the Vatican. The trouble was that nobody knew what happened to the Virgin Mary, since the Bible did not record her fate.

So, I think it was in 1870 or thereabouts that they decided that she had been bodily lifted up to heaven, just to keep it simple, as it were.