How were the vacations?

These days, you hear the question everywhere and envy those who answer brightly that the vacations are still ahead of them.

Were you really on vacation or were you just working remotely under difficult conditions? Have you tried video conferencing in isolated or unsuitable locations?

Did you have to leave the table with a frantic look on your face just as the delicious main course was served, prepared to perfection by the talented chef, in order to take a phone call outside the restaurant as quickly as possible?

The word vacation means time off from work or school. In Switzerland, people don’t “go” on vacation, they “go” on vacation.

The vacation of Augustus

Ferragosto, the Italian public holiday on August 15, is derived from the Latin Feriae Augustus, the feast day of the Roman Emperor Augustus. 29 years before Christ, Emperor Augustus wanted to celebrate his victory over Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra with a festival. Similar to a wedding in India, one day seemed too little for this victory and the conquest of Egypt. August 13, 14 and 15 were therefore declared public holidays.

Over time, the official national holiday in Italy has remained August 15, which is also celebrated as the Assumption of Mary in Italy, as in many other Roman Catholic countries, as a church feast with processions and masses.

The feast in August

Ferragosto, the day in the middle of August, is traditionally a popular day in Italy for a trip to the mountains or the sea. On this day, restaurants serve a select festive menu “Pranzo di Ferragosto”. “The Feast of August” is therefore also the title of an Italian feature film, a directorial debut with many amateur actors, which was a hit with audiences at the Venice Film Festival:

Giovanni takes care of his impoverished mother. They can no longer pay the rent, so the landlord, who wants to go to the seaside for Ferragosto, offers to waive the rent if his mother can spend Ferragosto in Giovanni and his mother’s apartment. As the Romanian housekeeper is unavailable, the landlord’s mother moves in with her sister.

The family doctor also wants to go on vacation and asks Giovanni to take his mother in for the Ferragosto. He not only hands over his mother but also a strict food list, which essentially only includes steamed vegetables.

After some initial difficulties, the unusual flat-sharing community pulls itself together. Cooking pasta together (non-vegetarian) and drinking many glasses of Prosecco and wine eventually lead to a joyful feast in August. A light, cheerful movie with a serious background.

Closed for vacation

As a day by the sea or in the mountains is definitely too short, the tradition of taking a vacation around August 15 has developed in Italy. Many businesses, stores and other enterprises close. The hustle and bustle comes to a halt except for organizations that are either busy with vacation guests or cannot or do not want to take a company vacation for other reasons.

It is easy to ridicule these collective vacations as old-fashioned. However, they have one major advantage: almost everyone goes on vacation at the same time. The highways and airports are crowded, but business is quiet. You can be sure that everyone will return at the end of August and that things will resume with renewed vigor.

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In Austria, vacations were called summer retreats. The idea behind it is basically the same: to escape the heat of summer and return to everyday life refreshed when the days are shorter and cooler.

Workcation

At first glance, the attempt to combine work and vacation in the sense of a workcation sounds tempting: thanks to sophisticated IT and a good Internet connection, working at a vacation location seems to remove boundaries and fit in with modern times.

The right to workcation is now enshrined in many company agreements and in some collective agreements, as it seems to be the ideal hybrid of modern times, as long as all matters of labor law, residence law, social security law and tax law are clarified.

In reality, this usually means that recovery is neglected. Creativity, agility and innovation require that the memory in your head is allowed to take a break from time to time.

Relaxation is only possible if we are not “available”. You don’t need to escape to a private island at the end of the world that advertises the fact that the internet connection is poor. A garden or the park will do. The crucial difference is: online or offline and the latter without a guilty conscience but with a lot of enjoyment.

If that’s not possible, we wish you a vacation replacement worthy of the name and remember to add a charming half-sentence to your out-of-office note that will make those who tried in vain to reach you in August smile.

Photography © GloriousMe 2024

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