France has a total of 11 public holidays (religious and civil). These include the Assumption, which takes place every summer on August 15. Not to be confused withAscension Day, celebrated on the fortieth day after Easter.
While many appreciate August 15 as an additional holiday in the year, others remember that it is first and foremost a religious festival. Every August 15, Christians commemorate the ascension of Mary, the mother of Jesus, into heaven. On this day, according to the Catholic faith, the Virgin Mary was " taken up to heaven " in body and soul after her death.
August 15 is a day off for believers to celebrate this feast day, but also to get together to share and pray. In fact, many pilgrims go to Lourdes every year.
So, where does the Assumption holiday come from in France, and why is August 15 a public holiday? The origin dates back to the reign of Louis XIII (1610 - 1643), son of Henri IV and Marie de Médicis. With his wife Anne of Austria having difficulty in producing an heir, the king began to pray to the Virgin Mary. Processions through the parishes were even organized on August 15. Miraculously, in 1638, little Louis, who was to become Louis XIV, was born. Louis XIII decided that August 15 would be a Marian feast, in honor of the Virgin Mary.
August 15 was all the more important as it had originally been chosen as France's national holiday from 1806 to 1813. Eventually, July 14 was declared a national holiday in 1880, while August 15 was declared a public holiday. As for the termAssumption, it didn't appear until 1950, when Pope Pius XII decided to make the dogma of the Assumption official.
