another glorious day

[scotia]

My wife, daughter and family were off in the South of France earlier this month (I was fishing in the wilds of Scotland). To their surprise there seemed to be a national holiday and a day of celebration on 8th May. And they were even more surprised when they learned what was being celebrated. Does any UK citizen out there know what the significance of that date is?

[PinkDalek]

Spoiler - I've looked it up:

Victory in France day (and the opening of the Cannes Film Festival).

[tjh290633]

My guess is Ascension Day.

[AleisterCrowley]

Nein, Christi Himmelfahrt 10 Mai 2018

[stevensfo]

Yes, it's VE Day when the great french resistance won the war single handed, with a tiny bit of help from the Brits and Yanks who messed up their pristine beaches in the process, then allowed everyone to quietly forget that Francois Mitterrand hadn't really been working for the Vichy government after all.

Steve

[PinkDalek]

Yes, it's VE Day ...

Further to my earlier reply, Wiki says it's Victoire 1945. Not only that but if the OP's family were in Orléans, they'd be celebrating the Sainted Joan, the Maid of Orléans:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Orléans#Legacy

[Dod101]

If the OP was serious I guess he must be a lot younger than me. VE Day is engrained into the minds of my generation (those born during or before WWII) I am constantly amazed that people do not know the significance of VE Day, particularly in France!

Apart from, that is, its being the birthday of my Brother in Law on the actual day (8 May 1945)

Dod

[PinkDalek]

If the OP was serious I guess he must be a lot younger than me. ...

I got the impression the OP was fully aware of the significance of the date which, as before, isn't only celebrated as Victoire 1945 in certain parts. That's what I thought from the "and" in "national holiday and a day of celebration on 8th May" and the mention of being off to, rather than in, the South of France but I'm only guessing.

[scotia]

I was just over a year old when VE day was first celebrated, but I confess that I was not aware that the 8th May was VE day. If asked, I would have said that hostilities in Europe ended around the end of April 1945, but its not a date we celebrate in the UK. Apparently its a major celebration in France - so much for the "Community" aspect of the EU.
As to TJH guessing Ascension Day then that was the 10th this year, and apparently France (in spite of its secular education system) also celebrated it with a holiday. So for two days in that week my family found many shops and restaurants closed. Maybe the rest of the world think we are strange by having "Bank" holidays.

[poundcoin]

My son lives in Netherlands and in the last 4 weeks there have been 5 public holidays . Added to the fact , yesterday , grand-daughters school added on their equivalent of a "Bakers Day" it seems to have been a stop- start month for them .

Fri Apr 27: King's Birthday
Sat May 5: Liberation Day
Thu May 10: Ascension Day
Sun May 20: Pentecost Sunday
Mon May 21: Whit Monday

[csearle]

Nein, Christi Himmelfahrt 10 Mai 2018

aka Christ's sky drive. C.

[scotia]

I got the impression the OP was fully aware of the significance of the date

Yes - when I posted the question, I was aware that it was VE Day - having been told by my family, on holiday in the South of France. My (English) son in law apparently had a reaction not too dissimilar to the response by stevenso.

[AleisterCrowley]

Nein, Christi Himmelfahrt 10 Mai 2018

aka Christ's sky drive. C.

The day our Lord moved to a fully Cloud-based solution..