CiaraFeb 15
‘Oxveckorna.’ Now there’s a word I needed, but didn’t know existed until now. ‘The ox weeks.’ The long, dark, featureless weeks between New Year and Easter when there are no public holidays, and everything’s dull, and the weather is harsh, and you just trudge to and from work, day in, day out. The weeks when you slog through every day like a toiling ox. Tack, my Swedish friends, for naming the concept.
Show threadRay McCarthyFeb 15

@CiaraNi
We have (St) Brigid (recently added) and St. Patrick's* days, two of Ireland's three patron saints.

[* Patrick became popular during late 17th C due to Lent getting stricter, because a Feast Day over-rides a Fast. Canny folk here. However he never cast out the snakes and is unlikely to have had to use a shamrock (from Irish for young clover) to explain the Trinity. See Celtic Triple Aspect.
There are 2 Brigids. One is a fire goddess. Same day.]

Show threadCiaraFeb 15

@raymaccarthy The addition of Brigid's Day as a public holiday stung a little seen from Denmark because it was introduced just as one of the Danish public holidays ('Great Praying Day', please don't make me explain that) was removed. Am delighted Ireland got an extra one, at least.

There's no October bank holiday in Denmark either, so we're fierce deprived of a free day off in these current Ox Weeks and the short-dayed weeks between Summer and Christmas.

Show threadElaine SanfeyFeb 16
@CiaraNi @raymaccarthy Does Denmark give days in lieu for public holidays that fall on a weekend? My Swiss and Italian colleagues were surprised that Ireland does this because their countries don't. I pointed out that we only had 9 public holidays (at the time), so to lose one or two would be unfair. They each got about 15 with all the weird religious sounding ones that Ireland never had.
Show threadCiaraFeb 16

@elainesanfey No days off in lieu in Denmark either when the moveable-feast public holidays land on weekends. When Christmas Day and Stephens' Day fall on a Saturday and Sunday, it's called an 'Employer's Christmas'. But then again, there are a fair few public holidays here in Summer plus a minimum of 5 weeks of paid leave, typically 6, so we haven't really too much to moan about in the grand scheme of things.

@raymaccarthy

Show threadElaine Sanfey
@CiaraNi @raymaccarthy that's terrible about the Christmas days. I rely on the fact that no matter how it falls I only have to take 3 annual leave days to not have to work between Christmas and new year.
Feb 16 at 12:42pmWeb
Show threadCiaraFeb 17

@elainesanfey On the plus side, it feels like a lovely win in the years when the public holidays do fall on weekdays. But otherwise yes, it is great to have a fixed system where you always know that three days of leave always gives you a full Christmas week off.

@raymaccarthy