Last week, August 15th, was the Feast of the Assumption.

Anyone who was in Italy, Austria or Upper Bavaria that day could see: work is at a standstill, shops are closed.

In Italy, "Ferragosto" is considered one of the highest holidays of the year, which people spend with family or friends by the sea or in the cool mountains.

Rainer Hank

Freelance author in the business section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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I was in Wolfegg on Mariae Himmelfahrt, a beautiful spot in the Swabian Allgäu (including the castle, church and beer garden).

There is no holiday there, although the people are just as (little) Catholic as in the Bavarian Allgäu, a few kilometers away, where the holiday gave people a long weekend.

Encourage growth, ward off disease, drive away spirits

In times when even the meaning of Easter or Christmas is no longer familiar, a little tutoring in popular piety might not hurt.

There is no reference in the Bible to Mary, the mother of God, ascending to heaven.

However, even early Christian theology was of the opinion that Mary was physically assumed into heaven as the "first redeemed" because of her special relationship with Christ.

Then, in 1950, a pope officially elevated the pious faith to dogma.

Dogma means: Those who are Catholic are expected to believe in the Assumption of Mary.

Over the centuries, a whole wreath of pious customs has developed around the festival: herbs and flowers are collected in the fields - there should be seven of them -, tied up as "tufts of votive offerings" and blessed by the priest during the service on the festival day, and dried them at home and counts on their help when difficulties threaten.

The herbs are said to heal illnesses of people and cattle, and they are also said to have an effect on warding off lightning and thunder.

True to the rule of three: promote growth, ward off illness, drive away spirits.

It is probably not difficult to prove that the number of people who know the meaning of the festival and even believe in the dogma and the healing properties of herbs has become quite manageable.

One might wonder (not just for Ascension Day) whether it's okay for us to take holidays for which we don't give a damn about the reason and occasion - a kind of free-riding or parasitic borrowing from religious customs and tradition.

Admittedly, not even the churches have come up with the idea of ​​making the right to take church holidays dependent on religious conviction.

After all, the German trade union federation in Central Franconia has now called for Assumption Day to be made a public holiday for everyone in Bavaria.

Treating a holiday differently between communities on the basis of religious affiliation is no longer up-to-date when fewer and fewer people follow the Christian religion.

One can only say that the unions have smelled the holiday roast.

Whether the Assumption Day is a public holiday in a Bavarian municipality depends on whether the population is predominantly Catholic, which exclusively refers to whether there are more Catholics than Protestants.

If there are 20 Protestants and 15 Catholics in a community of 100 people, the holiday is cancelled.

Strange, isn't it?