The vacation and the holidays They are mainly made in August due to a very ancient traditionlinked to the agricultural work cycle. In fact, summer is the period in which no crops are grown wheat and others cerealswhich are harvested in June and sown again in autumn. The practice of taking holidays in summer, coinciding with the break from work in the fieldshas been preserved in contemporary times, despite the end of peasant civilization, and involves both schools and other occupations. However, not all countries have the same “passion” forItaly for the summer holidays: in rest of Europe holidays are distributed more evenly throughout the year, albeit with a prevalence in the summer months.
Why holidays are in the summer
The reason why holidays are mostly taken in summer is linked to agricultural work. The grainwhich has been the most important crop for centuries, is widespread, is harvested in June and sown in autumn, so that the summer months, and August in particular, are those in which it is least necessary to work in the fields.
Since the ancient world, in the summer period, festivals linked to the cycle of agricultural work were celebrated. In the 1st century BC, the emperor August “institutionalized” the celebrations by creating the August Holidays (Augustus’ rest), which fell at the beginning of the month. From Holidays our Ferragosto derives from: after the advent of Christianity, the holiday was “recognized” by the Catholic Church, which starting from the 7th century associated it with the celebration of the Assumption of Mary into heaven, moving it to the middle of the month.
The principle of resting in the summer has persisted over the centuries. However, one should not think that in the past people took holidays like ours, with seaside stays or trips abroad. In the Middle Ages and in the modern age, rest only meant that there was less to do in the fields and that took place celebrations and popular festivals.
The principle of taking summer holidays has not disappeared in contemporary times. In the nineteenth century, when the principle of taking summer holidays was established in Europe of free and compulsory educationmany countries have chosen to keep schools closed in August and, in some cases, even in other summer months.
The practice did not change even in the twentieth century, despite the fact that in Western countries the majority of the population stopped working in agriculture to find employment in industry and the service sector. The tradition of summer holidays has continued both for “psychological” reasonsbeing a custom consolidated over the centuries, both practical, because the summer heat makes more burdensome to work and go to school.
But in all countries do holidays take place in the summer?
At this point a doubt might arise: are summer holidays the same all over the world as in Italy? Short answer: yes, but not at the same level as ours. This is true for both school and other occupations.
In the school environment, in Italy Summer holidays last 13 weeksa figure that in Europe is matched only by one other country, Latvia. In many other countries, especially in the northern part of the continent, summer holidays last 6-8 weeks: France, Germany, United Kingdom. In other cases, especially in the Mediterranean area, the duration is 10-12 weeks: Greece, Spain, Portugal. In Italy, the long duration of holidays poses some problems, both for the learning loss (students, standing still for such a long period, tend to forget what they have studied), both for the costs that weigh on familiesforced to send their children, for example, to paid summer camps.
The duration of the summer closure, however, It doesn’t mean that there are fewer school days in Italy. On the contrary, in Europe we are at the first place for length of school yearwith 200 days of attendancetogether with Denmark. In fact, in many countries, long vacation periods are planned during the year.
In any case, the closure of schools also “drags” other sectors. Italians are the people who concentrates holidays more in summer. A Eurostat survey from a few years ago highlighted that the 74% of nights spent in hotels by Italians is placed in the summer months (June-September). The percentage puts us at the top of the European ranking. Behind Italy there are Greecewith 72.2%, and the Slovakiawith 67.3%; closes the classic Malta, whose inhabitants spend only 41.2% of nights in hotels in the summer months. The EU average is 51.9%.
