Life for the medieval peasant was certainly no picnic. His life was shadowed by fear of famine, disease and bursts of warfare. His diet and personal hygiene left much to be desired. But despite his reputation as a miserable wretch, you might envy him one thing: his vacations. Plowing and harvesting were backbreaking toil, but the peasant enjoyed anywhere from eight weeks to half the year off.
The Church, mindful of how to keep a population from rebelling, enforced frequent mandatory holidays. Weddings, wakes, and births might mean a week off quaffing ale to celebrate, and when wandering jugglers or sporting events came to town, the peasant expected time off for entertainment. There were labor-free Sundays, and when the plowing and harvesting seasons were over, the peasant got time to rest, too.
Fast-forward to the 21st century, and the US is the only advanced country with no national vacation policy whatsoever.
http://www.businessinsider.com/american-worker-less-vacation-medieval-peasant-2016-11
So when the US are mocking us French for our "long" vacations, they are in fact jealous of, on that point, our actually decent labour code?
ReplyDelete