Bits and bobs

Easter Monday

Easter Monday is the Monday immediately after Easter Sunday. It is observed by many Christian groups, but primarily by the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions. It marks the beginning of Easter Week (Roman Catholic) / Bright Week (Eastern Orthodox).

Different cultures observe Easter Monday very differently. Some of these observances have more Christian symbolism in them than others, but none of them are explicitly biblical. 

In Italy, Easter Monday is called “Pasquetta”  and is a national holiday.

There is a saying in Italian that goes, “Natale con i suoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi” – which means you’re supposed to spend Christmas with your immediate family and Easter is for you to spend with whoever you like. Practically speaking, however, Easter Sunday is still a time when people often get together with family. Easter Monday, on the other hand, is entirely about spending time with friends.

A very popular Easter Monday tradition is to pack a big picnic and drive out into the countryside with a group of friends, enjoying what you hope will be nice weather.

In France Easter Monday, (Le Lundi De Pâques), is the tradition to eat omelette. 

In the town of Bessières, in the south of France, there is a festival on Easter Monday where a giant omelette is cooked in recognition of when Napoleon Bonaparte and his army stayed overnight near the town. After enjoying an omelette prepared by a local innkeeper he ordered the townspeople to gather all the eggs in the village and to prepare a huge omelette for his army the next day.

It is prepared with around ten thousand eggs in a frying pan that is four metres wide.  This delicious festival is called La Fête de l'Omelette Géante. 

Bits and bobs

Happy Easter

Just a quick note to wish you all
Happy Easter, Joyeuses Pâques, Buona Pasqua.

If this is not a celebration in your religion or you are not religious at all, may you spend an happy and peaceful day with your family, friends or loved ones.  

xxx

Bits and bobs

Good Friday

The 'Good' in Good Friday comes from old English when Good meant Holy. So you could call Good Friday, 'Holy Friday'. The Anglo-Saxon name for Good Friday was Long Friday, due to the long fast imposed upon this day while in Italy the day is called 'Venerdì Santo' (le Vendredi Saint en français).

'Good Friday' in the Christian faith is remembered as the day on which Christ was crucified ; the world the famous 'Via Crucis' or 'Way of the Cross' also known as the 'Stations of the Cross' when the Pope leads a solemn torchlight procession from the Colosseum to the Palatine Hill represents exactly this.

In this Good Friday liturgy, the fourteen 'stations of the cross' are marked, each signifying a part of Christ's passion and death. Pilgrims carry a wooden cross around each 'station', and for part of the way the Pope himself takes the cross. This tradition is duplicated in many christian parishes across the world.

Good Friday was not celebrated in the UK as the day Christ died until the 4th century AD; since the early 19th century, before the introduction of bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day were the only two days of leisure which were almost universally granted to working people. 

In France cloches volantes or flying bells are important part of the Easter traditions. French Catholics believe that on Good Friday, all the church bells in France fly to the Vatican in Rome, carrying with them the grief of those who mourn Jesus' crucifixion on that day. These flying bells return on Easter Sunday morning and bring with them lots of chocolate and eggs. In keeping with the tradition, French church bells do not ring from Good Friday to Easter Sunday morning. 

Some Christians fast on Good Friday to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for them on the day of crucifixion. In the same way, fish is often eaten as a substitute for meat, deriving from old Church law which dictated that Christians must abstain from eating meat or eggs during the 40 days of fasting that preceded Easter. 

In the UK is traditional to eat warm hot cross buns on Good Friday. Hot Cross Buns with their combination of spicy, sweet and fruity flavours have long been an Easter tradition, with the pastry cross on top of the buns symbolising and reminding Christians of the cross that Jesus was killed on.

Whatever you believe I hope you have a peaceful day.

People stuff

To Brexit or not to Brexit?
Are there employment implications of leaving the EU?

Whatever your feelings and thoughts regarding the referendum and the potential implications of an exit from the EU, logics applied when it comes to employment laws.

The facts so far are:

• David Cameron has completed his renegotiation and has called a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU.
• If the Leave campaign is successful and the UK does withdraw from the EU, it would be likely to stay within the European Economic area (EEA) or the European Free trade area (EFTA) and the European directives apply to both areas ; Britain exemption from EU employment law is likely to meet strong resistance from other member states, whether or not the UK remains a member.
• UK employers might support imposing a cap on discrimination claims which are currently uncapped, with maybe a push for some exemptions for SMEs.
• An exit would have little effect on family friendly rights as most of the changes introduced in this area were not introduced because of EU law.

We do not know as yet what Britain's relationship with the EU would look like as a non-member state, hopefully more details will emerge as we get closer to the date of the referendum.
For now big changes in the employment sphere look unlikely. The impact on immigration is unclear.

Whatever your views, if you are eligible, do not forget to vote: if you don't like the results on the morning of 24 June, you won't be able to blame anybody but yourself.

La Festa del Papa'

Today is St. Joseph's Day in Italy also the time when Italians celebrate their Father's Day or "Festa del Papa' to commemorate San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) a symbol of a pious and perfect father who fulfils his assigned role within the family, but also the protector of woodworkers, poor people and orphans.

This day is celebrated mainly in the Roman Catholic countries. Earlier, this day was a national holiday in Italy. 

The Italians celebrate with family get-togethers and traditional San Giuseppe desserts that vary from region to region. In the south, zeppole (deep-fried dough balls) and bigné (cream puffs) are prepared and in the north, frittelle (fritters) are eaten to mark the occasion.

To all fathers, Italians or not, Tanti Auguri, you can't never celebrate dads enough I think.

To my papi, I miss you dearly, love you always xxx

Happy St Patrick Day

St Patrick is known as the patron saint of Ireland.

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Patrick was born in the later half of the 4th century AD. There are differing views about the exact year and place of his birth which is said to be in either Scotland or Roman England.

Patrick was born the son a Roman-British army officer when one day, the story has it, a band of pirates landed in south Wales and kidnapped him along with many others. It was then sold into slavery in Ireland where he remained for 6 years, mostly imprisoned. This was when he dreamt of having seen God.

Legend says, he was dictated by God to escape with a getaway ship which he did and went first to Britain and then to France. There he joined a monastery and studied under St. Germain, the bishop of Auxerre. When he became a bishop, he dreamt that the Irish were calling him back to Ireland to tell them about God.

The Confessio, Patrick's spiritual autobiography, is the most important document regarding this. It tells of a dream after his return to Britain, in which one Victoricus delivered him a letter headed "The Voice of the Irish."

So he set out for Ireland with the Pope's blessings.

There he converted the Gaelic Irish to Christianity. It does appear that Patrick was very successful at winning converts. Familiar with the Irish language and culture, he adapted traditional ritual into his lessons of Christianity rather than attempting to eradicate native beliefs. He used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were used to honouring their gods with fire, he also superimposed a sun, a powerful native symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross.

For 20 years he travelled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his conversion. He developed a native clergy, fostered the growth of monasticism, established dioceses, and held church councils.

By the end of the 7th century Patrick had become a legendary figure, and the legends have continued to grow since then.

An Irish tale, which may have an element of truth about it, tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He apparently used it to show how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing the shamrock on his feast day, and shamrock green remains the essential colour for today’s festivities and celebrations.

 

It is said that he died on March 17th in AD 461 and since then, the date has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day. The day's spirit is to celebrate the universal baptization of Ireland. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday or, rather, 'an Irish Day '.

Sona lá st Pádraig

International Women's Day

International Women’s Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe. The day has since assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. 

Mimosa is traditionally given to women
 by men in Italy to celebrate the day

The growing international women’s movement has helped to make the day a rallying point to build support for women’s rights and participation in the political and economic arenas. 

The International Women's Day 2016 Theme is : 
"Pledge for Parity".

Violets (or Lily of the Valley) are given in France

Everyone - men and women - can pledge to take a concrete step to help achieve gender parity more quickly.
Everyone can commit to take pragmatic action to accelerate gender parity within own sphere of influence.

It is the small daily actions and choices that can make a big difference. What are you going to do today at work and/or in your life to pledge?
And more importantly, isn't that borderline ridiculous that we still need to "Pledge for Parity" and is not a given?



                           

Happy Mother's day

For centuries it was custom for people to return home to their ‘mother’ church in the middle of Lent. Those who did so were said to have gone ‘a-mothering’. The day often turned into a family reunion and a chance for children working away from home to spend time with their mothers.

It was an American social activist, Anna Jarvis (1864-1948), who campaigned for an official day to honour mothers in the US and is regarded as the "Mother of Mother's Day". She dedicated her life to lobbying for the day after swearing she would do so after her mother's death. In Great Britain, it was Constance Smith who, inspired by a 1913 newspaper report of Jarvis' campaign, began pushing for the day to be officially marked in England. 

Smith founded the Mothering Sunday Movement and even wrote a booklet The Revival of Mothering Sunday in 1920. 

By 1938 Mothering Sunday had become a popular celebration with Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and various parishes across Britain marking the day and communities adopting the imported traditions of American and Canadian soldiers during the war. By the 1950s it was being celebrated throughout Britain.

In the continent they celebrate Mother's Day in different days altogether.

Whatever the day, let's not forget to make the day special for mums (and grandmas) and thank them for all the hard work, the patience and strength they show, day in, day out.

Bits and bobs

Happy St David's Day

St David is the patron saint of Wales and March 1 is a day of celebration of both St David’s life and of the Welsh culture.

St David plays a very important role in Welsh culture but little is known about his life. It is believed that he lived to be 100 years old and that he died in 589, but the first texts on his life only appeared around five hundred years after his death. This means that it is difficult to tell which aspects of his story are true and which are legend. 

He was canonized in 1120 and March 1 was included in the church calendar as St David's Day. People started making pilgrimages to St David's monastery after he was canonized. A cathedral still stands on its original site.

I think it is important to celebrate and remember what makes us unique so we can understand and respect each other better, and then look for our similarities as human beings, strong in our own individuality.

Dydd Gwŷl Dewi (Sant) haps.