Ascension

This Thursday morning we all slept late because Lindsey had a day off from school. Finally we awoke, thanks to the sun streaming through the windows and the sounds of birds chirping cheerfully. On my way to the grocery store after breakfast, I passed dozens of elderly worshipers (and even a group of nuns) streaming into one of the Catholic churches for mass. The bells of the church pealed loudly, beckoning others to come. You see, today France recognizes the Ascension holiday.

As a Christian, I'm familiar with the story of the Ascension of Christ from Acts 1 in the Bible. After Jesus was resurrected from the dead, he remained on earth for 40 days, giving "many convincing proofs that he was alive" (Acts 1:3) and speaking about the kingdom of God. After the 40 days, the Bible says, "he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight" (Acts 1:9).

Protestant Christians don't normally celebrate this very significant event in the life of Christ. I'm not sure why. After all, it marks the point at which Jesus ascends to his eternal place at the right hand of the Father. I find it quite interesting that France -- viewed by most as a secular nation (albeit with Catholic roots) -- recognizes it as one of its official state holidays.

My curiosity peaked, I googled "ascension holiday in France" and was directed to the France.fr website (tagline, "the official website of France"). Since I know that France takes the separation of Church and State very seriously, I was stunned to read details about this religious holiday on what seems to be an official government website (it's published by the Service d'information du Gouvernement in Paris). Let me quote word for word what it said:

Each year, Christians celebrate the festival of Ascension, which is a public holiday in France, on the Thursday of the 5th week after Easter, or forty days after Easter.
The "long weekend of Ascension" is one of the first long weekends of spring; a foretaste of holidays, of summer even, when the French countryside is celebrating the return of spring.
In the sequence of Easter events for Christians
Good Friday: Jesus is crucified.
Next Sunday, Easter Day: Jesus is resurrected.
Ascension Thursday, the 40th day after Easter: Jesus ascends to heaven.
In the Christian tradition, Ascension (from the Latin ascendere, "rise towards") represents the last time Jesus appears to his disciples, forty days after his Resurrection, and marks his departure from earthly life.
The long weekend of Ascension
The festival of Ascension, which is celebrated on Thursday by Christians with a solemn mass, during which the colour of the liturgical ornaments is white, the colour of light and joy, is often mentioned due to the long weekend that many people take.

Now, just for fun let's contrast this with what USA.gov had to say about America's federal holidays. All the major public holidays were listed and described: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King day, Washington's birthday, Memorial day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There was no mention at all of Good Friday, not even in the section entitled "other celebrations and observances," because although most federal employees, bankers, and schools all take a break on the Friday before Easter, it is not an officially recognized federal holiday. Finally, at the very end of the long list of holidays and other observances I discovered this paragraph:

Various ethnic and religious groups in America celebrate days with special meaning to them even though these are not national holidays. For example, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter, Jews observe their high holy days in September, Muslims celebrate Ramadan, and African Americans celebrate Kwanzaa. There are many other religious and ethnic celebrations in the United States.

So there you have it. America, which according to some is a "Christian" nation, carefully skirts the issue by lumping several major religions together in one paragraph. And France, the "dark, secular" nation, unashamedly glorifies Christianity in a government-sponsored website aimed at an international audience. What do you think? Do you find it ironic? Leave me a comment.