This succession of two long weekends is rather nice, yes.
Legolas Send a noteboard - 28/05/2012 01:41:05 AM

Although of course only the Thursday of Ascension is an actual public holiday, the Friday is taken off by many people, institutions and companies too, and then the weekend of the week after is Pentecost with the Monday off.
In here we have Easter Monday, Ascension, Pentecost Monday, Mary's Ascension on August 15th, All Saints and then Christmas Day - though few people work on either Christmas Eve (at least not in the afternoon) or Boxing Day, either.
However, religious holidays of other formally recognized religions are accepted, too - just not as official public holidays, I guess, in the sense that only companies or institutions with primarily or exclusively employees of the religion in question will be closed, and in the sense that Muslim or Jewish employees wishing to work on Christian public holidays will have a rather hard time doing that in their office or usual workplace.
This country definitely doesn't have separation of church and state in a very strict way... we (and most other European countries) just violate it in entirely different ways than the US does, is all. Although I have to admit that the state paying the wages of priests/rabbis/imams is a fairly extreme violation of said separation, alright...
In here we have Easter Monday, Ascension, Pentecost Monday, Mary's Ascension on August 15th, All Saints and then Christmas Day - though few people work on either Christmas Eve (at least not in the afternoon) or Boxing Day, either.
However, religious holidays of other formally recognized religions are accepted, too - just not as official public holidays, I guess, in the sense that only companies or institutions with primarily or exclusively employees of the religion in question will be closed, and in the sense that Muslim or Jewish employees wishing to work on Christian public holidays will have a rather hard time doing that in their office or usual workplace.

This country definitely doesn't have separation of church and state in a very strict way... we (and most other European countries) just violate it in entirely different ways than the US does, is all. Although I have to admit that the state paying the wages of priests/rabbis/imams is a fairly extreme violation of said separation, alright...
For Our Nordmenn: What Happens to Federal Religious Holidays in the Absence of a State Church?
27/05/2012 01:33:20 PM
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Nothing, they are federal holidays still because of strong unions, not religion
27/05/2012 06:58:52 PM
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Hypocrisy FTW, eh?
27/05/2012 11:04:38 PM
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No.
27/05/2012 11:16:11 PM
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Again, some people manifestly care; just not enough to relinquish a paid holiday.
28/05/2012 01:48:26 AM
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Nothing.
27/05/2012 07:03:07 PM
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Replacing it with another, secular, holiday seems the responsible thing to do.
27/05/2012 11:15:11 PM
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People. Don't. Care.
27/05/2012 11:29:07 PM
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If people did not care, disestablishmentarianism (and its antithesis) would not exist.
28/05/2012 01:41:18 AM
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Most of them are stolen from heden traditions and have nothing to do with christianity.
27/05/2012 07:15:55 PM
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Since two resident history buffs recently excoriated me for that claim, I have no wish to revisit it
27/05/2012 11:27:13 PM
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Thanksgiving isn't a religious holiday.
27/05/2012 08:43:58 PM
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That is rather debatable.
28/05/2012 12:08:53 AM
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The Distinction
29/05/2012 07:41:47 PM
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Thanksgiving was a purely federal institution. FDR dictated the date it's celebrated
30/05/2012 03:22:09 AM
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That distinction would be an almost wholly Roman Catholic (or possibly Greek Orthodox) one.
01/06/2012 01:47:12 AM
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How do you come to four for Canada?
27/05/2012 11:29:57 PM
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Because I counted Thankgiving, and holidays for federal employees rather than just statutory ones.
28/05/2012 02:03:55 AM
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Re: Because I counted Thankgiving, and holidays for federal employees rather...
28/05/2012 04:31:14 AM
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Well, you know better than I, but I found the 1580s date interesting.
28/05/2012 04:08:31 PM
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Re: Well, you no better than I, but I found the 1580s date interesting.
29/05/2012 01:15:52 AM
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Ireland has a tonne of religious public holidays yet no state religion.
28/05/2012 12:48:55 AM
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I wondered how that would shake out for the rest of Europe, or at least Western Europe.
28/05/2012 02:29:16 AM
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This succession of two long weekends is rather nice, yes.
28/05/2012 01:41:05 AM
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It's funny how you use "federal" to mean "mandated by national government".
28/05/2012 03:49:17 PM
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I was thinking more "central" government, but OK.
28/05/2012 04:26:38 PM
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Re: I was thinking more "central" government, but OK.
28/05/2012 04:50:32 PM
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Re: I was thinking more "central" government, but OK.
01/06/2012 02:03:40 AM
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I think you've got the Scotland Act backwards.
01/06/2012 09:48:36 AM
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There's a lot of countries that call "devolution" federalism, though.
01/06/2012 09:52:23 PM
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What about when most of the country is still under central control?
02/06/2012 10:25:47 AM
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