Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-03-05
MANY HOLIDAYS.
Canadians Have Forty-Three Days
of Rest, Excluding Sundays.

From London rt-Bits.
Several times it has been suggested
that another bank holiday should be
sandwiched in between the first Monday
in August and Christmas day, SO as to
break this long period of nearly five
months of steady work.
DIRECTORS assert that we have too many
holidays already. and that if another were
established 1t would be extremely bad for
business
Whether the objection is sound or not
II Is difficult to say. but the fact remains
that We as nation have fewer public
holidays than any other country. Includ-
ing Christmas day and Good Friday, ours
number no more than six. which added to
Sundays. make only fifty-eight voorhees,
days in the course OF the year
compare this with our greatest colony,
Canada. Canadians rejoice in no fewer
than forty-three holidays besides sun
days-in all ninety-five days without
work The years working days of the
Canadian thus number only go yet Can
ada Is at present the most progressive
country on the face of the earth. not even
excepting the United States.
Belgium is popularity supposed to be a
hard-wOrking country. Certainly its trade
is very large and its manufactures inn.
portant. Yet the Belgian workman enjoys
thirteen public holidays besides Sundays.
Inc Austrian factory hand is still better
off than the Belgian. He gets twenty
three free days, Or an average of nearly
two public holidays month. not counting
Sundays.
In Italy the various cities are accorded
the privilege of making their own bank
holidays. Genoa, for instance, has eleven
which are called state holidays. and which
are kept very much in the same way az
our bank holidays.
The Roman Catholic Church observes a
very large number of saints days. About
tWo-thirds OF each month in its calendar
is occupied with special saints days. But
there is no obligation to keep these holy
days as holidays" in the modern sense
of the word
Herein the Roman Catholic differs from
the Greek Church, where practically all
the important saints days are voorhees,.
Moreover, at Easter orthodox members
of the Greek Church do no work beyond
what IS necessary for whole week. The
result is that Russia, whose state church
Is Greek, has the almost incredible num-
course of the year. Added TO Sundays.
this makes 13S days on which no work is
done in Russia.
Mexico lis another country of which ii is
hardly an exaggeration 10 say that it is
ruined by holidays. The Mexican, lazy
by instinct, seiZes every possible oppor-
tunity for a day off. He will not work
on any OF the principal saints days, and
the nation at large has nearly sixty public
holidays besides Sundays.
The chief national holiday is May ).
concentrating the defeat of the French
troops at Pueba in 1862. And what il
perhaps the oldest fete day is the ma
tional bathing day, June IL Some Mexi-
cans-one might say the majority-are
not over fond of cold water, but June Is
every one, from the President down to the
lowest peon or iaborer, is expected to give
himself good wash
Ali Mohammedan countries suffer from
an overplus of holidays, which are en-
forced by their religion. First, of course.
there is the weekly day of rest. which Is
Friday. Then there are sixty-two special
holidays on one of which work is done.
Finally there is Ramadhan, the Mo-
hammedan Lent. This means nearly a
month of abstinence, both from food-at
least during the day-and from work in
all there are seventy-nine days besides
the weekly Sabbath during which the
strict Mohammedon does no work.