Because I counted Thankgiving, and holidays for federal employees rather than just statutory ones.
Joel Send a noteboard - 28/05/2012 02:03:55 AM
Québec has one left: Christmas. We have a day off following Easter, but it's not a religious feastday. It can also be shifted to Good Friday by employers, which has resulted in many deciding to give both days off since doing business is too difficult and slow on both days.
Our thanksgiving isn't a religious celebration either, it's been imported by American immigrants of british descent to Lower Canada (now Québec) and has moved around the calendar a lot. It has been celebrated for all sort of things, the first time for a failure of the French revolutionaries to induce an insurrection in Lower Canada (in 1799, irrc), and even for victories against the US in the war in 1814. It eventually returned to its roots as a reaping festival, and nowadays if you ask, people will tell you it's the festival celebrating the death of a lot of turkeys (more seriously, it doesn't have nearly the importance of the US equivalent as a day for family reunions).
St-Jean-Baptiste isn't a religious holiday either, despite the old name (in Québec it's officially National Day now).
What were your others?
Our thanksgiving isn't a religious celebration either, it's been imported by American immigrants of british descent to Lower Canada (now Québec) and has moved around the calendar a lot. It has been celebrated for all sort of things, the first time for a failure of the French revolutionaries to induce an insurrection in Lower Canada (in 1799, irrc), and even for victories against the US in the war in 1814. It eventually returned to its roots as a reaping festival, and nowadays if you ask, people will tell you it's the festival celebrating the death of a lot of turkeys (more seriously, it doesn't have nearly the importance of the US equivalent as a day for family reunions).
St-Jean-Baptiste isn't a religious holiday either, despite the old name (in Québec it's officially National Day now).
What were your others?
Wikipedia claims the origins of your Thanksgiving lie even farther back than ours, by the way, and quotes your Parliament establishing it officially in 1957 as "A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October." People keep insisting a holiday explicitly created for giving thanks to God is not religious, and I keep struggling to understand why, or even how. It may be only nominally religious, but millions would say (and several here have said) the same about Christmas, or any other religious holiday. Its basis and meaning remain religious just as Mardi Gras/Carneval does, even if many people with little or no religious fervor have since added unrelated aspects. If we say any holiday people used for partying or just general rest and relaxation is disqualified as religious, then NO holiday is qualified.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(Canada)
The others, however, were Good Friday (which Wikipedia claims is a holiday by federal law) and Easter Monday (which it claims is a holiday for federal employees.) Wikipedia further claims Quebec employers are allowed to substitute one of these for the other, but that most grant both.
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Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
This message last edited by Joel on 28/05/2012 at 02:05:24 AM
For Our Nordmenn: What Happens to Federal Religious Holidays in the Absence of a State Church?
- 27/05/2012 01:33:20 PM
1260 Views
Nothing, they are federal holidays still because of strong unions, not religion
- 27/05/2012 06:58:52 PM
674 Views
Hypocrisy FTW, eh? 
- 27/05/2012 11:04:38 PM
810 Views
- 27/05/2012 11:04:38 PM
810 Views
No.
- 27/05/2012 11:16:11 PM
631 Views
Again, some people manifestly care; just not enough to relinquish a paid holiday.
- 28/05/2012 01:48:26 AM
659 Views
Nothing.
- 27/05/2012 07:03:07 PM
624 Views
Replacing it with another, secular, holiday seems the responsible thing to do.
- 27/05/2012 11:15:11 PM
601 Views
People. Don't. Care.
- 27/05/2012 11:29:07 PM
645 Views
If people did not care, disestablishmentarianism (and its antithesis) would not exist.
- 28/05/2012 01:41:18 AM
796 Views
Most of them are stolen from heden traditions and have nothing to do with christianity.
- 27/05/2012 07:15:55 PM
918 Views
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
763 Views
Thanksgiving isn't a religious holiday.
- 27/05/2012 08:43:58 PM
704 Views
That is rather debatable.
- 28/05/2012 12:08:53 AM
790 Views
The Distinction
- 29/05/2012 07:41:47 PM
748 Views
Thanksgiving was a purely federal institution. FDR dictated the date it's celebrated
- 30/05/2012 03:22:09 AM
664 Views
That distinction would be an almost wholly Roman Catholic (or possibly Greek Orthodox) one.
- 01/06/2012 01:47:12 AM
630 Views
How do you come to four for Canada?
- 27/05/2012 11:29:57 PM
587 Views
Because I counted Thankgiving, and holidays for federal employees rather than just statutory ones.
- 28/05/2012 02:03:55 AM
765 Views
Re: Because I counted Thankgiving, and holidays for federal employees rather...
- 28/05/2012 04:31:14 AM
653 Views
Well, you know better than I, but I found the 1580s date interesting.
- 28/05/2012 04:08:31 PM
892 Views
Re: Well, you no better than I, but I found the 1580s date interesting.
- 29/05/2012 01:15:52 AM
707 Views
Ireland has a tonne of religious public holidays yet no state religion.
- 28/05/2012 12:48:55 AM
665 Views
I wondered how that would shake out for the rest of Europe, or at least Western Europe.
- 28/05/2012 02:29:16 AM
696 Views
It's funny how you use "federal" to mean "mandated by national government".
- 28/05/2012 03:49:17 PM
636 Views
I was thinking more "central" government, but OK.
- 28/05/2012 04:26:38 PM
656 Views
Re: I was thinking more "central" government, but OK.
- 28/05/2012 04:50:32 PM
623 Views
Re: I was thinking more "central" government, but OK.
- 01/06/2012 02:03:40 AM
837 Views
I think you've got the Scotland Act backwards.
- 01/06/2012 09:48:36 AM
754 Views
There's a lot of countries that call "devolution" federalism, though.
- 01/06/2012 09:52:23 PM
718 Views
What about when most of the country is still under central control?
- 02/06/2012 10:25:47 AM
636 Views