Jeûne genevois 2020: History and Significance of the day

Jeûne genevois is a public holiday in the Swiss canton of Geneva, Switzerland. Which means Genevan Fast or Genevan Patriotic Fast, it is celebrated every year on the Thursday after the first Sunday of September. Jeûne genevois 2020 falls on September 10.

It goes back to the 16th century. The religious fasting of Jeûne genevois isn’t generally followed. Plum pie is frequently served as sweet in Geneva homes on Jeûne genevois. Banks and post offices alongside numerous shops, restaurants, and bars close for the day. Notwithstanding, in contrast to Thanksgiving in the U.S., which additionally falls on a Thursday, a four-day weekend isn’t casually taken and most businesses are open on Friday.

The European tradition of fasting as a way of remembering plagues, famines, and wars goes back to the 15th century. In Switzerland, fast days of thanksgiving and penitence were managed by the cantons. Jeûne genevois was made to remember the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre of 1572, a wave of deaths and violence coordinated against French Protestants.

Geneva was a cradle of the Reformation in Europe. In 1567, its occupants observed a canton-wide fast as an indication of friendship with French Protestants who were abused in Lyon. This was probably the first Genevan fast. After five years, updates on the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre arrived at Geneva, and another fast was seen on September 3.

By 1640, Jeûne genevois had become an annual patriotic holiday. It was declared a government holiday in 1831, yet that didn’t last. The holiday was announced not, at this point official in 1869. Individuals kept on celebrating it unofficially until 1965, progressively disregarding its religious significance.

On August 1, 1966, Jeûne genevois was pronounced a public holiday in the canton of Geneva. The vast majority don’t celebrate it as a religious fast any longer. One of the most cherished traditions is preparing and eating plum pie (tarte aux pruneaux).

While the religious fasting element is not, at this point generally observed, banks, most businesses, and shops will be closed on Jeûne genevois.