C’est la fin des grandes vacances d’été ! Connaissez-vous l’histoire de La Rentrée?
It's the end of the French Summer Holidays!
Do you know its history?
This is highly simplified, but......In the U.S., Labor Day signals the shift from summer to fall. It's the same in France, but this transition is marked by "La Rentrée," meaning "the return", which is akin to our back-to-school season, but with a very different twist, à la Française, bien sûr! Of course!
Vive la Difference!
It follows a sacred long-standing French tradition where nearly all of France takes their four to six weeks vacation in July and/or August to "recharge".
And La Rentrée is much more than just the return to school. It marks the release of new books, the debut of new TV shows and new hosts or the return of old favorites (or not!), and the beginning of political planning for the upcoming year, with 2024 set to be particularly challenging !
Socially, it's a time when people reconnect in outside cafés, at friend's BBQ's or at local farmers' markets, sharing stories about their vacations, destinations and, most importantly, comparing their suntans, before finally settling back into their routines—often with a mountain of work that will take them weeks to tackle!
If you have ongoing business or are waiting for some documents or whatever, do not expect anything to get done before another 3-4 weeks!
For many, La Rentrée is a season of celebration, seen as a fresh start, complete with new resolutions.
And don't forget that the next set of holidays is only 6-weeks later with "La Toussaint", (All Saints Day) from October 19th to November 4th 🤣, with Christmas following about 6 weeks later.
If you have your story to share about La Rentrée, please feel free to post a comment.
Real people read it regularly.
Merci!
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