Continuing to work with Ascension or Pentecost in order to free up time for Sugar Feast, Tabernacles or Diwali is therefore not necessary for the average participant. Partly because then the employer will pay for it again, explains Cornelia1959 from: “Nonsense proposal and practically impracticable. Or will Blokker just open at Christmas, because one of the staff members wants to be free for the Eid? Does that staff member only run the tent on those days?”
Many commentators point to the Judeo-Christian tradition. You shouldn’t mess with that, thinks Leen_van_nieuwenhuijzen1947: „We live here in the Netherlands and not in another country. If you then settle here as a non-Dutch citizen, you also have to adapt to the norms and values of this country.” I think so too Gertaafjevanderwiel: “Leave it as it is. Because what’s actually wrong with that? The school holidays are often set accordingly. We are here in the Netherlands. And we should not always have to adapt to other cultures. Everyone has enough days off to schedule themselves.” no 1 For the sake of clarity, it turns around for a moment: “If I settle in an Islamic country, I will not get any time off for Easter or Christmas.”
Egbert van Breughel looked at other Western countries and says: “Every country has its own set ‘holidays’, many of which are through religion or nationality, which have been defining for years and also a form of cherished identity! I don’t know of any country where there is a call to ditch those ‘holidays’, despite the addition of other religions and cultures.”
flexible
tom tax is for equal monks, equal hoods. Then get rid of all religious holidays: “When it comes to communality, that also only applies to general holidays that have meaning for everyone. New Year’s Day, Liberation Day, King’s Day and then it stops a bit. The rest is just a few extra vacation days, for everyone. And in schools a bit of flexibility with regard to absence due to religious obligations, which is already common practice.”
Leo Master gets a bit suspicious of noises to make the holidays flexible. ‘Trick of the boss’, he thinks, ‘then all public holidays will no longer be public holidays. So no extra reward if you have to work. Think of breakdown services and such. And the collective labor agreement will not include the fact that you have extra vacation days, because some public holidays sometimes fall on the weekend.”
carbrown expresses the view of most when he says: “Live and let live. Let’s keep the holidays especially to refuel.”