Jeûne genevois
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Jeûne genevois (Genevan fast) is a public holiday in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland which occurs on the Thursday following the first Sunday of September. It has its origins in the 16th Century.[1]
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[edit] Fasting in Switzerland
Beginning in the 15th Century, fasting in order to commemorate serious events (such as famines, plagues, and wars) was a common occurrence in Europe. The Swiss Federal Diets of 1480 and 1483 discussed organizing Fast Days of penitance and thanksgiving, but decided to leave the decision for the individual cantons. Because of the absence of federal law, the "fast days" took the form of pilgrimages, processions, litanies and actual fasts[2].
In 1522 Huldrych Zwingli, an early instigator of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland, had declared that fasting provisions were mere human commands that were not in harmony with the Holy Writ.[3]
The plagues of Basle (1541) and Berne (1565 and 1577) were followed by days of penitence and fasting, asking God for clemency and mercy.[4]
[edit] History
Legend connects the fast to the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, but this is almost certainly incorrect[5]. In Geneva, a cradle of Protestantism and the Reformation, the news of this slaughter of several thousand Huguenots on 24 August 1572 did indeed trigger a fast in solidarity on 3 September 1572. However, the first fast in Geneva, which was widely participated in, dates from the beginning of October, 1567, as a sign of solidarity with the Protestants being persecuted in Lyon, France, which is the most probable origin of the Jeûne genevois[6].
In 1640, through the impetus of the Reformed cantons, the fast became annual, and the Genevan Revolution of 1792 did not displace it. Jeûne genevois rather took on a patriotic identity, symbolizing Geneva's proud identity and protestantism. It is probably during this time (during the Helvetic Republic) that folklore linked it to the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.[7]
[edit] Officialization
In 1831, the Federal Diet decreed a Jeûne fédéral for all cantons, fixing the date at 8 September. This was later changed to the third Sunday in September over the protests of Geneva, which enacted its own Jeûne genevois.
In 1869, Geneva repealed the officialization act, and Jeûne genevois was celebrated unofficially until 1965, gradually losing its religious significance. On 1 August 1966, it was again declared a public holiday, and the date fixed as the Thursday following the first Sunday of September, which it still is today.
[edit] Modern observance
Today, Jeûne genevois is not widely observed religiously. Banks, post offices, as well as many shops, restaurants and bars close for the day. However, in contrast to Thanksgiving in the U.S., which also falls on a Thursday, a four-day weekend is usually not taken, and most major places of business are open on Friday.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Please note: much of this article has been translated from the French Wikipedia.
- ^ Catherine Santschi, La mémoire des Suisses, Association de l'Encyclopédie de Genève, 1991
- ^ "Ulrich Zwingli". Catholic Encyclopedia XV. (1913). The Encyclopedia Press.
- ^ Olivier Fatio, Le Jeûne genevois, réalité et mythe (BSHAG14), 1971.
- ^ FAO de Genève 250th Year, # 102
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Ibid.
