Too Many Holidays

Yesterday was another holiday, Christi Himmelfahrt, also known as the Ascension (the German name literally translates to Christ's Heaven Journey). It was also Vatertag (Father's Day). Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday of May, as it does in most countries, but Father's Day falls on the Ascension. I guess they didn't want to waste another Sunday. Nevertheless, we celebrated at our favorite Brauerei, St. GeorgenBräu. The boys were being extra nice to each other since it was Father's Day.

Next Saturday we leave for Normandy. Just a long weekend. Monday, May 28, is also a holiday, Pfingstmontag, or Pentecost Monday. We'll be in France for only 4 days, but Philip has two weeks off. The kindergarten will still be open.

Before we left Chicago, I looked forward to all the German school holidays. Kids in Bayern (it varies from state to state) begin school in mid-September, and go to school for about six weeks before the one-week Herbstferien at the end of October (Philip calls it Halloween break). Then it's another six or seven weeks before the two-week Christmas break. Before Lent, they get one week off for Fasching (Carnival), and 40 days later, two weeks for Easter. Six weeks after Easter is Pentecost and yet another two weeks off. The school year ends at the end of July, and Sommerferien is about six weeks long. School-aged children (children aged 3 to 5 are in kindergartens, which double as daycare centers, so they have fewer breaks) have just as many days off as kids in the US, but their breaks are spread out throughout the year instead of packed into the summer. The boys and I were always so exhausted by Christmas and Summer break in Chicago. I like having the frequent breaks from getting them ready for school and helping them with homework, but on the other hand, it feels like we've just settled into our weekly routine (all extracurricular activities also follow the school break schedule, as do many businesses and doctors' practices--see the next paragraph) when a new break starts.

Since the kids are off, many parents also take time off from work, including business owners and doctors. It is not uncommon to call your favorite hairdresser, for example, only to find out that the entire shop has closed down for the holidays. Over the Easter break, I made an appointment with my dentist. Thinking since he was open, I would call to set up an appointment for Alex with a speech therapist (he has problems pronouncing "s" and "sh"). I left messages on the answering machines of three different practices, and only one called back before the end of the break. I think I've lived too long in a cultural that never sleeps--I need to learn that it is best to put everything off until after the holidays, and there are so many of them here.