Diwali, Durga Puja, the Independance Day or the commemorating day of the birthday of Gandhiji are some of the Indian national holidays. In France, like in India, there are some civil and religious (christian, as the majority of the French are christians) holidays.
The civil holidays:
- January 1st: "Jour de l'an", when people celebrate the beginning of the New Year.
- May 1st: "Fête du travail" which celebrates workers with several demonstrations of the labor organizations.
- May 8th: commemoration of the victory of the Allies on the Nazi Germany in 1945 (Second World War).
- July 14th: "Fête nationale"which commemorates the storming of the Bastille during the French revolution.
- November 11th: commemoration of the Armistice of the First World War in 1918.
The religious holidays:
- Variable date (in April): "Lundi de Pâques", which celebrates Easter festival.
- Variable date (39 days after Easter): "Jeudi de l'ascension", when Jesus Christ was phisically taken up to heaven.
- Variable date (50 days after Easter): "Lundi de Pentecôte" commemores the day when the Holy Spirit came down on the Apostles.
- August 15th: "Assomption", when Mary (Jesus Christ's mother) was phisically taken up to heaven.
- November 1st: "la Toussaint" which celebrates all Saints recognized by the Catholic Church.
- December 25th: "Noël" or the commemoration of the birthday of Jesus Christ.
Apart from these national days, some regions commemorate other days according to their specific histories. For example, in the overseas French departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, Mayotte and Réunion, people commemorate in the months of April, May, June or December, the abolition of slavery on their territories.
