Holidays in France
The set of french holidays includes some of the major international celebrations such as Christmas, Labor Day and All Saints’ Day. But holidays, dedicated to the history of France, have a very special place not only in the Holiday Calendar of the country but in the hearts of the French people and are woven tightly into their overall cultural identity. The most notable such holiday is the Bastille Day. Here is the list of all Holidays in France.
French Holiday Calendar for 2021-2022 year
February 2021
March 2021
Saturday 20 March -
UN French Language Day (United Nations) and International Francophonie Day (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie);
International Macaroon Day (macaroon is a French confectionery made from egg whites, sugar and ground almonds. Usually made in the form of cookies; put cream or jam between two layers)
April 2021
Saturday 17 April -
Malbec World Day (Malbec is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. MWD is celebrated to commemorate the day when president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento of Argentina officially made it his mission to transform Argentina's wine industry. On that day, back in 1853, he tasked Michel Aimé Pouget, a French soil expert, to bring over new vines)
May 2021
Sunday 9 May -
Europe Day (is the name of two annual observance days, 5 May by the Council of Europe and 9 May by the European Union, which recognize the peace and prosperity within Europe that both have achieved since their formation);
World Fair Trade Day (celebrated on the second Sunday of May)
Sunday 30 May -
Mother's Day in France (also Algeria, Dominican Republic. First Sunday of June, if Pentecost occurs on this day, Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia; celebrated on the last Sunday in May)
June 2021
Wednesday 2 June -
International Sex Workers Day (In 1975, on 2nd June, about 100 sex workers occupied Saint-Nizier Church in Lyon, France, to express their anger about their criminalised and exploitative living conditions. On 10th June at 5 o'clock the Church was brutally raided and cleared by police forces. This action sparked a national movement, and the day is now celebrated in Europe and around the world)
Sunday 20 June -
Father's Day (Ñelebrated on the third Sunday of June øò Argentina, Aruba, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Kenya, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Venezuela, United Kingdom)
July 2021
Sunday 18 July -
St. Arnulf’s Day in France (Arnulf was the Frankish bishop of Metz and lived in about 582-640 years. Three legends are associated with him: about the ring that returned to him, about the fire that receded from him and about the beer that was given to him, to quench the thirst of pilgrims)
August 2021
Sunday 15 August -
Acadia National Festival;
Feast day of the Assumption of Mary (Christian feast day, one of the Catholic holy days of obligation a public holiday in Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, and Vanuatu);
Twins Day in Pleucadeuc (Morbihan, France. Deux et plus)
September 2021
October 2021
November 2021
December 2021
Thursday 9 December -
Laity Day in France (established on the initiative of L'Observatoire de la laïcité - French advisory committee tasked with assisting the government in upholding and promoting the principle of secularism)
Sunday 26 December -
St. Stephen's Day (public holiday in Alsace, Austria, Andorra, Catalonia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland)
January 2022
Notes:
Fixed public holidays that fall on a Sunday are celebrated on the following Monday. No time off in lieu is granted when a public holiday falls on a Saturday. When a public holiday occurs on a Thursday, the following Friday is often taken as a “pont” (bridge) to create a long weekend.