France
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Officially, only two days are holidays and weekends at the end of the year and the beginning of the next. This is Catholic Christmas – December 25 and New Year – January 1.
However, in France, the practice of “bridges” has existed for at least half a century. According to local law, all citizens have the right to five weeks of paid leave, which can be divided into parts and used at their own discretion. So, the Frenchman, for example, removes six units from this “piggy bank” and fills them with “niches” – working days between holidays and weekends, that is, Saturdays and Sundays. Thus, this year, a married couple, having celebrated Christmas Eve with their relatives on the night of December 24-25, could go, say, to the mountains or to the sea on Thursday, December 26, and return home only on Sunday, January 5, so that the next day to go to work. So on average, in fact, it turns out from six to 11 days of winter rest, depending on the chosen formula.
There are, of course, other options that people choose at their own discretion. True, they reserve most of their vacation for summer holidays in July and August.
Italy
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Italians enjoyed quite a long winter holiday this holiday season. Traditionally, the festive period in Italy begins with Catholic Christmas on December 25 and continues until the feast of Epiphany (Epiphany) on January 6.
Because Christmas 2024 fell on a Wednesday, many Italians took extra holiday days (called “ponte” (“bridge”) to combine holidays and weekends. Official holidays were: December 25 (Christmas Day), December 26 (St. Stephen’s Day) ), January 1 (New Year) and January 6 (Epiphany).
Taking into account weekends, many Italians rested for about 10-12 days. However, the duration of rest could vary in different regions. Some organizations, especially in the tourism and service sector, also worked on holidays, given the large flow of tourists during this period. First of all, this concerns Rome, where the “Year of Jubilee”, proclaimed by the Vatican, started just during the Christmas period, which attracted the attention of many pilgrims from all over the world.
The festive period in Italy is traditionally characterized by family gatherings, attending Christmas masses and markets, and long festive lunches and dinners. In major cities, many shops and restaurants closed only on major holidays, remaining open the rest of the time to serve both locals and tourists.
Compared to the previous year, Italian families increased their holiday spending significantly. The average family spent about 200-250 euros on a festive table and another approximately 300-400 euros on gifts.
Spending on food has especially increased, which is associated with a general increase in prices in Europe. Many Italians, despite inflation, did not skimp on traditional holiday dishes, preferring to maintain the quality of the holiday table. In major cities such as Rome, Milan and Florence, costs were approximately 20 to 30 percent higher than the national average.
Interestingly, around 35 percent of Italians shopped online, showing the growing trend towards digitalization of shopping even in the traditionally offline-oriented Italian society.
Germany
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Officially, in Germany there are only three days off for Christmas and New Year: December 25, 26 and January 1. However, most Germans take longer holidays during the winter holidays. On December 24 and 31, only every fifth person works, and half of them work until lunchtime. Shops, for example, close at 2 pm before Christmas in Germany. After lunch, only transport, catering and hotel workers, as well as doctors and emergency services workers, remain in their places. Working conditions on the eve of holidays depend on the specific enterprise and are specified in the employment contract, but, as a rule, employers agree to give their employees an additional day off on these days or let them go early.
Approximately three-quarters of Germans also take vacations between holidays, that is, on December 27, 28, 29 and 30, because their companies and enterprises have holidays during this period. It is noteworthy that these holidays, according to German experts, reduce the negative effect of winter weekends on the economy. According to estimates, for one non-working holiday that falls on weekdays, Germany’s GDP loses about 3.5 billion euros. But, as experts note, in winter this negative effect is less, since many enterprises do not work anyway and these “corporate” holidays are not taken into account when calculating GDP in any case.
In addition, economic losses from long weekends are partly offset by increased spending by citizens. Residents of Germany spend an average of 700 euros on gifts and decorations alone, and to this amount are added expenses for cafes and restaurants, trips, etc. At Christmas and New Year, many Germans go to visit relatives or, for example, to the mountains with their children, who are also on school holidays at this time.
Source: rg.ru
