French Row Over Plans to Swap Christian Holidays

France 24 ^ | 9/26/13 | Sam Ball

[marshmallow]

A French official has sparked controversy by suggesting that two Christian public holidays should be removed and replaced by ones marking the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur and the Muslim festival of Eid.

A proposal by a French official to replace Christian national holidays with those based on Jewish and Muslim festivals has sparked controversy in the country.

Dounia Bouzar, an anthropologist specialising in religion who was recently appointed to France’s National Observatory on Secularism, put forward the proposal in an interview with France’s Challenges magazine on Monday.

“At the moment, every French person celebrates Christmas, and I think it should be the case that we include one Muslim festival and one Jewish festival among our national holidays,” she said.

Rather than adding new holidays to the calendar, Bouzar suggested replacing two unspecified Christian public holidays with ones marking the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur and the Muslim festival of Eid.

France often prides its strong secular ideals and has strict laws enforcing the separation of religion and the state. Nevertheless, the majority of its national holidays are based on Christian festivals.

“Today, French Jews and Muslims are very uncomfortable asking for days off to celebrate these two very important holidays [of Yom Kippur and Eid],” said Bouzar.

“A Jewish holiday and a Muslim holiday becoming a celebration for all the French would fight sectarianism and advance the cause of secularism,” she added.

[annelizly]

Umm...easter?!

[Texas Fossil]

It was highly radioactive and was cleaned up at the blast site soon after the test. It is very difficult to find a sample of Trinitite today.

[MichaelCorleone]

***“Today, French Jews and Muslims are very uncomfortable asking for days off to celebrate these two very important holidays [of Yom Kippur and Eid],” said Bouzar.***

We wouldn’t want people to feel uncomfortable, now would we?

[Cyber Liberty]

Not an “official” holiday because it’s always on a Sunday. Maybe I should count all Sunday’s as “Christian Holidays?” Hmmm. Must ponder that.

[Paladin2]

Key Lime Pie:

[Gumdrop]

“....and certainly not add El Cid!”

I think the name of the Muslin holiday is “el Aeid” or something close to that.

el Cid (Rodrigo Diaz) is a Spanish medieval hero who helped banish the Moors from the Iberian peninsula. Maybe the Christian nations should have a holiday named after el Cid? We could name it as though it was for the Muslims, and then the Christians could celebrate el Cid instead. We could pretend to be ignorant and celebrate el Cid.

[wideawake]

My guess: Low Monday and Whit Monday will be kept, not because of their religious importance (they are minor feasts) but because they create three day weekends.

The Assumption and Ascension are most likely to go, despite being major feasts and Holy Days of Obligation, because the Assumption is not moveable and the Ascension is always on Thursday.

Good Friday will be kept because it creates a four day weekend and because it is also a great solemnity to boot.

Christmas and All Saints are too festive, and Christmas is too important, to be discarded.

She is only suggesting Yom Kippur so as not to be seen as openly kowtowing to Islam.

But the whole point of this exercise is to diminish Christianity and valorize Islam.

Eid al-Adha, which is the most important holiday in every Muslim sect's calendar, last four days.

She, being stupid, probably does not know this.

[Texas Fossil]

Another photo of Trinitite

http://www.mindat.org/photo-321843.html

[annelizly]

Lots of people work on sundays and many business’ are open on sunday. Definitly an official holiday for them

[expat2]

Easter, I’m sure.

[Paladin2]

I made better glass samples in school (electric furnace though).

[Texas Fossil]

Yes, very porous and bubbled.

but what do you expect from a Nuke? hee hee hee

[Mastador1]

Do we have any others besides Christmas and Thanksgiving?

We no longer have any! We have “spring break” instead of Easter and “winter break” instead of Christmas and I don’t think Thanksgiving was ever considered a Christian holiday. We are busy taking holidays away from the founders and leaders of our nation cramming Presidents birthdays together to make room for MLK and that communist that called La Migra on non union farm workers Chavez. I won’t be surprised if the next thing Zero does by fiat is to eliminate a holiday formerly considered Christian to his lord and mast mutthamed.

[ConorMacNessa]

Here in the U.S., at least in my diocese, The Ascension is observed on Sunday. I guess that's 43 days after Easter, not 40.

Another bad practice arising from Vatican II. Or maybe arising from the general decline of devotion among many Catholics in this era.

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[El Cid]

...and certainly not add El Cid!

That's a bit blunt...

[Talisker]

Dounia Bouzar, an anthropologist specialising in religion...

I propose anthropologists specializing in religion be allowed to speak only once a year, and then only through a screen pointed down at the ground, in front of a waterfall.

[I still care]

Here in FL the statists tried to get rid of Good Friday, told the kids they all had to come in to school.

I think they had 45% attendance, and after a year or two, they gave up.

IMHO school has nothing to do with celebrating holidays. A school should give holidays simply because a certain number of kids won’t be coming, and at some point it is impractical to hold class.

[Boogieman]

Just as soon as Saudi Arabia gives everyone Easter off.

[wideawake]

Good point - on a percentage basis there are likely more Christians living in Saudi Arabia than there are Muslims in France.

[Mrs. Don-o]

"Because every spanish speaking country on the globe is over-ran with ignorance, out of control reproduction, drugs, thugs, corruption and suppression of the few good men."

On your first point, you are mistaken. Most Spanish-speaking countries have good literacy rates, literacy being the most common international indicator of education. (Source: CIA World Factbook)

Argentina	98%
Bolivia	95.7%
Chile	95.7%
Colombia	90.4%
Costa Rica	94.9%
Cuba	99.8%
Ecuador	93.2%
Mexico	93.4%
Panama	91.9%
Paraguay	94%%
Spain	97.7%
United States	99%

On your second point, you are mistaken, because most Spanish-speaking countries are right around or below the world average fertility rate, which is only slightly above replacement; and many of them are, like the United States, actually below replacement. (Replacement=2.11)

Ecuador	2.58%
Panama	2.56
World Average	2.55
Venezuela	2.55
Peru	2.51
Argentina	2.25
Colombia	2.22
Mexico	2.21
Uruguay	2.12
Costa Rica	2.10
United States	2.05
Chile	1.94
Puerto Rico	1.83
Cuba	1.49
Spain	1.41

On your third point --- drugs--- I wouldn't want to boast much as an American, since, listed next to the Spanish-speaking countries, the U.S. is comparable in addiction to illgal drugs, and in fact exceeds them in addiction to pharmceuticals --- the main source of addiction in the orld toa. industry.

And lastly: thugs and corruption?

Gangs, Obamunists, and look: everything they touch turns to Chicago. Or Detroit. Q.E.D.