Monday holidays

This Tuesday, being the last day of April, was Valborgsmässoafton. Officially it celebrates the end of winter and the coming of spring. Unofficially it's the chance to slope off from work 3 hours early. The next day, Wednesday, was a public holiday to celebrate Labour Day. A few diehards take to the streets to demonstrate about something (I'm not really sure what) but most people have a lie-in or head out into the countryside. All in all it's a day and a half away from work. Sweden has to be one of the world leaders when it comes to thinking up public holidays. If they aren't at the top then they most certainly make the starting line up. They have holidays or half days for everything, and more power to them I say. But they have made one fatal mistake which does surprise me. While some holidays are on fixed days of the week, such as Easter, other holidays are on fixed calendar days. Which means, naturally, that quite a few of them fall on weekends. Of course this is the same in every country which celebrates the same day. However, countries such as New Zealand and Australia have thought ahead about this problem, and have moved the paid holiday from the official day to the next formal working day. So if Julafton and Juldagen are on a Saturday and a Sunday, those are the days of recognition in Sweden. But, should the same thing happen in NZ with Christmas Day and Boxing Day (yes, I already know they don't mean the same in Swedish thank you) falling on a Saturday and Sunday, then everyone gets  paid holiday on the following Monday and Tuesday. The same with New Years Eve and New Years Day. Sweden has missed the boat there on scoring extra days off work, and that does suprise me given their love for holidays.

Now, while that was great for me as a worker, I also accept that it wasn't right and that Sweden is a bit more honest in that department. Typical Sweden, couldn't cheat if their life depended on it. If Christmas Day is on a Saturday then you wouldn't be working that day anyway. So why should you be entitled to an extra day off later on to compensate for something that you didn't lose in the first place ? Not that I ever complained, mind. In New Zealand they have taken it a bit to the extreme by moving public holidays at will in order to maximise the time off from work. Our "State Holiday" was moved to be tacked onto the end of Easter, and our own Labour Day was always on a Monday. Now they have gone further to move both our National Day and our Veterans Day to the nearest Monday. The thing is that the people who are directly affected by the day itself, are opposed to "Mondayising" the holiday. And I can sympathise with them. The only reason to move the holidays to a Monday is so that everyone can have a long weekend, and that moves the significance of the day away from the original purpose and on to leisure. Their argument is that it serves to cheapen the day, and I have to agree. Most people are simply going to take the chance to head out of town for the long weekend. I feel a bit cheated when I don't get a day off work here for a weekend Christmas, but have to confess that it's the right thing to do. Damn them.