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FRANCE EXPLAINED

Why isn’t January 6th a public holiday in France?

It's a massive nationwide party in neighbouring Spain, while Italy, Portugal and several Latin American countries get an extra day off work - so what happens in France on the Festival of Epiphany?

Published: 2 January 2024 16:20 CET
Updated: 5 January 2024 10:48 CET
Why isn't January 6th a public holiday in France?
A Galette des Rois (French Epiphany cake). Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP

January 6th marks the Christian festival of Epiphany when the Three Kings (or Three Wise Men) reached the baby Jesus in Bethlehem and handed over their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

It’s an important day in the Christian calendar and several Catholic countries – including Italy, Spain and Portugal, have a public holiday on the day.

In fact in Spain, the Día de los Reyes is a much bigger deal than Christmas – towns hold parades and carnivals, children get presents delivered by the kings (not by Santa) and the country generally stops and has a party.

So why doesn’t France take a day off to celebrate the Three Kings?

Is it because France is a secular country, we hear you ask? Well no, because despite secularism (laïcité) being coded into law, France actually gets several days off for Catholic festivals, including the comparatively obscure Ascension and Assumption.

In fact it has to do with a man named Cardinal Caprara, who spent the latter part of his life in Paris as a papal envoy – and who in 1802 issued a decree stating that Epiphany could be celebrated on the first Sunday in January, if people were unable to take the day off and celebrate on January 6th.

France has been doing that ever since, and you will see a special Mass celebrated on the first Sunday of January (January 7th this year) marking the festival of epiphany.

The Vatican extended this rule to the rest of the world in 1971, but by that time the January 6th holiday was firmly embedded in the holiday calendars of several countries and if there is one thing that politicians the world over shy away from doing, it’s telling the people that they must give up a beloved public holiday (which is basically also the reason that France has those Catholic holidays). 

However, that does not mean that Epiphany passes unnoticed in France – we do get special cake.

The Galette des rois is traditionally eaten on January 6th – although you will see it on sale in boulangeries and supermarkets from the beginning of January – its name referencing the Three Kings, not France’s ill-fated royals.

Hidden inside the cake – which is a kind of flaky pastry tart filled with frangipane or sometimes apple purée – is the fève (bean) which, if it turns up in your slice, brings good luck for the year ahead.

The cake comes topped with a gold paper crowns, and the person who gets the fève dons the crown and becomes the ‘monarch’ for the day.

Galette des Rois: What you need to know about France’s royal tart

Traditionally the cake is eaten with either cider or Champagne.

This year January 6th falls on a Saturday, so you can have an extra glass of cider or Champagne (and our neighbours in Spain or Italy don’t get an extra day off work either). 

France does, however, have a total of 11 public holidays (or 13 for the historic region of Alsace-Lorraine) and this year just one of them falls on a week, while two are on consecutive days, making a rare ‘double holiday’.

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LEARNING FRENCH

Reader question: Should I use Madame or Mademoiselle in France?

You might have heard that the use of the title Mademoiselle has become a little controversial in modern France - so should you still use it? And if so, when?

Published: 18 September 2024 11:52 CEST
Reader question: Should I use Madame or Mademoiselle in France?

As most language learners will be aware, in French the title for men is Monsieur, while women can be referred to as Madame or Mademoiselle.

These can be used as both a title to talk about someone – eg Monsieur Mbappé, Madame Macron – or to address them directly, Bonjour Monsieur, Bonsoir Madame.

Adding a Monsieur/Madame after your greeting makes it a little more formal and respectful – you might therefore hear it used by young people when greeting an older person or in a formal setting such as a meeting.

Likewise referring to someone as ‘le monsieur’ is usually heard in customer service settings and indicates a little extra politeness – eg le monsieur a un rendez-vous – the gentleman has an appointment.

But when referring to women you have a choice of whether to use Madame or Mademoiselle.

Historically, this referred to a woman’s marital status – Madame was for married women, Mademoiselle was for unmarried women. In fact the word oiselle is an old-fashioned term meaning virgin

Men get called Monsieur whether they are married or not, because in patriarchal societies men don’t get defined by their marital status.

However the meaning of Madame has shifted in France, and since roughly the second half of the 20th century Madame began to become more about age than about marital status.

Mademoiselle came to be used more for girls and young women, and Madame for older women, and whether or not they were married.

However, within the last decade there has been another shift, with some people calling for Mademoiselle to be scrapped altogether, saying it is outdated and sexist. If men get a single title, why can’t women?

In 2012 the term Mademoiselle was officially banned from all legal forms in France and you will notice on an increasing number of websites the box for civilité (title) contains only options for monsieur or madame.

Communications from official bodies such as the préfecture refer to all women as Madame, while most commercial organisations (eg your bank) do too. 

An increasing number of younger French women say that they dislike the term Mademoiselle.

Julie, a 26-year-old archaeology student, told The Local: “In the law it is forbidden to use Mademoiselle now, and I like it, we’re not completely there yet but we are getting used to it, and honestly it is much better Madame and Monsieur, otherwise if you want to use Mademoiselle, you have to use jeune-homme.

“When someone addresses me they use Mademoiselle with me, which most of the times I’m okay with, but sometimes you feel as if the person addressing you as Mademoiselle has a hidden and weird motive behind it, for example using it to flirt and it annoys me a lot.”

Louise, 32-year-old teacher, said: “I always use Madame, it allows me not to differentiate between women and men. Also it decreases the chances of assuming whether that person is married or not, or her age, or her looks.

“Some people address me as Madame and others as Mademoiselle but personally, I prefer Madame, I use Madame with everyone, even my young pupils, to eliminate the differentiation between them.'”

The term itself is not outlawed, however, and plenty of people do still use it, especially French people of the older generation.

It might also depend on the situation – for example a young waitress in a café could be referred to as Mademoiselle but if you’re talking to a younger work colleague you would more likely use Madame.

So which should you use?

Well in good news, being a foreigner gets you a certain leeway on French language battles – if you use Mademoiselle incorrectly and are speaking with a foreign accent, most French people will be more likely to assume that you have made a language mistake because you are foreign, rather than making an etiquette gaffe.

As outlined above; Mademoiselle is fine for children and teenagers while some women in their 20s, especially their early 20s, may not object to it.

You’ll also find demographic differences with older French people being more likely to use Mademoiselle widely.

If in doubt, however, it’s probably safer to use Madame.

Do you or your French friends/neighbours/colleagues use Mademoiselle? Share your experiences in the comments section below

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