Celebrating Bastille Day in Paris, France (National Day - The July 14)
The French enjoy 11 days national holiday every year Feri Civic calendar was established in 1582; Bastille Day was established in 1789, Armistice Day in 1918, Labor Day in 1935, and the Victory Day in 1945. During the month of May, there are holidays almost every week, so be prepared for stores, banks and museums close their doors days at a time is a good idea to call the museums, restaurants and hotels in advance to make sure they are open.
Trains and roads near large cities tend to get busy around national holiday Not coincidentally, this also happens when service unions such as carriers, railway, etc. like to go on something strike a tradition, in fact travelers would check before, especially when planning a trip for the last week of June or the first week of July.
There are also many regional festivals throughout France that are not included in our ViaFrance calendar hosts a great site that lists the fairs and festivals, traditional ceremonies and sporting events, concerts and exhibitions for all regions across France Use the interactive search form below to select a region and date range for a list of special events to help you plan your route.
Under the law, all French citizens are entitled to 5 weeks holiday Most natives take their summer holidays in July or August, and many large companies are then closed All France takes roads, railways , boats and respiratory Consequently trip to France in August is generally not recommended for foreigners.
In years when Ascension agrees with Victory Day, we mark the first, ignoring it.
metal workers have the feast of St Eloi, 24 July Festival of St Eloi - French Basque.
When a holiday happens to fall on a Tuesday or a Thursday, many French workers can take or Monday respectively on Friday off and it is not official and does not apply to institutions such as banks or government but it is common enough to cause difficulties of doing business occasionally.
The first day of May is known in France as the F you Labor Labor Day was named the F you of Labor and Social Concorde a day to celebrate the harmony and social work in March tain P Chal April 27 1941, during the Vichy regime a later measure taken by the government of the post-WW2 release in 1947 established as a paid holiday legally required for all French employees.
Traditionally, a day when the unions are staging labor demonstrations in major cities, it is also called the f te du Muguet 1 Lily-of-the-Day Valley, when it is customary to exchange these flowers for good luck the French Government allows individuals and organizations of workers to sell tax free.
The celebrations of the first May Day emerged in pre-Christian era, with the festival of Flora romaine goddess of flowers, and the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries; it is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane.
Although many pagan holidays were abandoned or Christianized during the conversion process in Europe, a Neopagan movement began to rebuild the old traditions to celebrate May Day as a pagan religious festival from the 20th century.
On October 24, 1793, in its report on the timetable presented to the Convention, Fabre d glantine proposed the establishment of a working holiday of the Day The date was set for 1 day pluvi SE2 fifth month of the French Republican calendar by Louis Antoine on the Saint-Just, who had been military and political leader during the French Revolution.
On April 27, 1848, the provisional government of the Second French Republic decreed public f you from Summer to be celebrated annually on March 4, in accordance with the date that slavery was abolished in France and the colonies.
Journ th International workers International Workers Day.
A Marxist theorist, philosopher, economist and revolutionary socialist Rosa Luxemburg b5 March 1871, to January 15, 1919 said that the proletarian struggle for a working eight-hour day began in Australia, where workers staged a massive strike on 21 April 1856 labor movement was so successful that spread to other countries, including the United States.
Under pressure from US unions, an estimated 300,000 workers marched on May 1, 1886 in many US cities, demanding the right to work an eight-hour day, the movement turned violent May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square Chicago, killing seven policemen and at least four civilians and wounding dozens of others.
The massacre at Fourmies, May 1, 1891 Click to enlarge.
Three years later, following a proposal by the International Socialist Workers defend Raymond Lavigne 3 4 the Congregation Congress of the Socialist International in Paris adopted May 1 as International Workers' Day and started their own campaign for a day working eight hours.
The struggle of the working in France would prove fatal for the protesters and innocent bystanders as well, on 1 May 1891 the small textile town of Fourmies near the Belgian border, in the northern department that day, the government sent two infantry companies of the 84th 145th suppress a peaceful demonstration.
The soldiers fired their new Lebel guns on a crowd of hundreds, killing 9 people and injuring 35, while some 45 seconds number of victims do not even participate in the demonstration Eight of the dead were aged under 21, there including 18- year-old Maria Blondeau whose martyrdom has become something of a symbol for the cause 5.
April 23, 1919, the French Senate has sanctioned a working day of eight hours and declared May 1st to be a holiday It has since remained an international day of workers' demands, resulting labor protests spread around the world .
On May 1, is now a national holiday in more than 80 countries and is unofficially celebrated in many other parts of Canada and celebrate Labor Day U S on the first Monday of September.
1 On 1 May 1561, King Charles IX of France received a lily of the valley as a good luck charm, he decided to offer the flowers each year the ladies of the court In the early 20th century, it became customary to give a bit of thrush valley, symbol of spring, may 1 these days, people may have loved ones or with bouquets of lily of the valley, the valley or dog rose flower 2 on day 1 of pluvi to french Republican calendar translates to January 20, 1795 to our modern Gregorian calendar day 3 Raymond Lavigne 1851-1930 was a trade unionist and socialist activist of Bordeaux, who harbored feelings Marxists He created underground unions before a 1884 French law prohibits unions for the first time 4 the Convention, also known as the Congregation of the Second International or re open a natur International took place at 42 rue Rochechouart Paris 9th, Fancy-room Parisian rock club s aujourd Ay, Manufacture 5 A monument to the tragic event is located in the old Town Hall Square W e are inscribed the words Nine workers in gr ve pay Their Righteous CLAIMS were you are on this place during the shooting 1 May 1891 Comus e of Avesnois Location Maria Blondeau, 59610 Fourmies an exhibition on the event in his 1892 book secret page 33 Fourmies, author Douard Drumont 1844-1917 provides a graphical representation of the state Miss Blondeau after being shot.
Other special celebrations non-national holiday.
On the Epiphany the first Sunday after January 1, many families in Provence follow a tradition of eating the cake of the Kings g or Galette des Rois in the northern half of France and Belgium It's kind of cake King ornament with a generally porcelain or plastic figure of a king or a féverole the c nq hidden inside a lucky person who obtains the piece of cake containing the ornament is crowned King or Queen one day.
The cakes can be found in most French bakeries in the month of January, and are accompanied by a paper crown The cake consists of layers of puff pastry with a dense center of marzipan made from or flavored like almonds, while proven g cake beer is a crown-shaped brioche with candied fruit candied fruit.
Mother is observed on the day of each year by children and adults to honor their mothers The first historical evidence of this celebration can be traced to ancient Greece to the 6th century BC, when there was the spring festivals honoring the goddess -Mère Cybele or Minoan Rhea equivalent.
In ancient Roman religion to the 3rd century BC, the Matronalia or Matronales Feriae was a festival celebrating Juno Lucina, the goddess of childbirth, motherhood and women in general, it was observed the first day of March, according to the Roman calendar wife received gifts from their husbands and daughters; husbands were to offer prayers for their wives.
English established a Christian festival known as Mothering Sunday Fourth Sunday of Lent during the 16th century AD a tradition that still survives today historians say that Napoleon Bonaparte offered a French F te M as of spring 1806, but the idea was not adopted for another century.
In France, where officials were alarmed by low birth rates, there were attempts in 1896 and 1904 to introduce a national celebration honoring mothers June 10, 1906, two mothers who had 9 children each received a prize for the high maternal deserves en Haut m rite in breast Artas village department is re Rh-Alpes not the original diploma, created by educator Prosper Roche Artas, is preserved in the library of archives the Institut de France in Paris.
A necklace of multicolored noodles for Mother's Day in France click to enlarge.
During World War II, American soldiers fighting in France has popularized the U S created by Ann Jarvis party; they sent so much mail in their country for Mother's Day that the Franco-Am Rican Union has created a postcard to that effect.
In 1918, also inspired by Jarvis, the city of Lyon celebrated a journ e M res honoring mothers and spouses whose son or husbands had been lost in the war in 1920, he was called Journ th National M res many families more dedicated to the fight against the depopulation that holidays in the United States.
The French government declared the day official in 1929, awarding annually the medal M from the AISE Family fran mothers of large families.
In 1941, at the initiative of maréchal Philippe P cking war Vichy government placed the day on the national calendar, using the celebration as part of their policy to encourage population growth, but all mothers were honored today even those with smaller families.
After World War II, the annual tribute received a legislative proclamation The Act of May 24, 1950 required the French Republic make official tribute to mothers on the last Sunday in May as the F te M res, except when Pentecost fell that day -There, in which case it was moved to the first Sunday of June.
During the 1950s, the festive custom has lost all patriotic and pro-natalist ideologies, and became heavily commercialized in 1956, the celebration was with a budget and incorporated in the new Code of Social Action and Families supervised Minister of health Ministry in 2004, health observances responsibility was transferred to the Minister of families Ministry of families.
To convey their feelings, French children have presents customarily given to their mothers, preparing cakes specially decorated or items handmade such as necklace traditional fr coal noodles noodles that is created at school The aim is to offer something with love and tenderness.
As of 16 May 2012, Dominique Bertinotti occupies the Families Minister station appointed by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.
April Fool An unwitting victim of April Fool click to enlarge.
April 1 is a day of pranks and jokes around the world, and every year in France, many unsuspecting victims spend the day with a fish of April 1 glued paper fish on the back.
The story goes that until 1564, the new year began on 1 April, on the occasion of the celebration of the Annunciation of Mary This year, however, King Charles IX of France signed the Edict of Roussillon change the new year on January 1st, to coincide with the lengthening of days Because transportation was still quite unreliable and slow news circulating in those days, it took a while for people to catch in the provinces outside of Paris, and they continued to exchange gifts on April 1 have a little fun, those in the know would sometimes exchange gifts of a different kind.
The origins of the fish in April aren t exactly clear; some versions say it was because fishing was prohibited at that time because it was mating season, and a link to the celebration of Easter, where the fish was often eaten instead of meat, and the gift of fake fish was considered a joke.
Whatever the case, watch out for a fish of April if you are in France on 1 April.
All French company involved in this tradition, including the media Both television personalities and the press will deliver false news stories and announce a retraction the next day.
Editing, translation, and parts written by Ian C Mills 1999- All rights reserved.
Bibliography Government French Office for New York Tourism Days f r s of France Fodor published in the US by tourist publications Fodor, Inc. and distributed by Random House, Inc. in New York religious holidays movable feasts of Universalis Our Lady of Sorrows F you Labor Description from data on the official website of France; Genealexis Stories of yesterday and today; History May 1; and an extract of Rosa Luxemburg in 1894 handwriting reproduced on Social criticism Note on the origins of the f te du Muguet dating from the reign of Charles IX, and other holiday references, Wikipedia the free encyclopedia annual calendars Steffen Thorsen time and date AS Stavanger, Norway Paris Monterrey blog Nathalie Magu r s.
Images cover of Le Petit Parisien, May 17, 1891, representing the massacre of Ernest Clair-Fourmies 1886 -1938 Guyot, from photographs Louis Perron taken the day of the tragic events in Fourmies, Wikimedia Commons The Scuffle at Clichy, May 1, 1891 unknown artist, Wikimedia Commons a portrait of Maria Blondeau, one of the nine killed on May 1, 1891, to the unknown artist Fourmies, the personal homepage Alain Delfosse traditional Galette des Rois photographer Marika Sorgenfrei aka roseric , multi-center a blog noodle color necklace for mother's Day in France Lo v Fassard photographer, a blog by Lo c Fassard a necklace of multicolored noodles for mother's Day in France unknown photographer, blog Fricadelle Co a complex noodle necklace for mother's Day in France Agnès photographer Propeck, the blog of a Godmother notebooks an unwitting victim of April Fool unknown photographer of the postcard e Whygo France French Poisson d'Avril, dating from early 2 0th century Wikimedia Commons Cartoon representing a victim of April Fool Patrick Ch telain artist from Paris Monterrey Cartoon representing a victim of April Fool unknown artist from Paris Monterrey No fish allowed except on an unknown photographer leash, Paris Monterrey All rights Reserved.
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