Top 8 Inventors Behind Big Business Parties

1. Candlemas, invented by Pope Gelasius I

This name means nothing to you ? We excuse you. Gélase 1er was pope a few years ago… 1530, exactly. And hold on tight, the story of Candlemas is even older, since he established it in 472, when he was only bishop of Rome! According to the assumption of many historians, at this date, the Roman Empire is already in the process of faltering. In this time of trouble, the man of the Church decides to organize, on February 2, a torchlight procession. Torches then replaced by candles… Which ends up giving “candlemas”. It is inspired by a pagan principle: the Lupercalia (a festival celebrated by the Romans in mid-February, to mark the end of winter and call for the purifying power of Lupercus, god of fertility and herds), but makes it Christian by replacing it with a feast of purification of the Virgin. BUT IT DOESN’T TELL US WHY WE EAT PANCAKES! I’m coming. Gelasius would have decided to distribute some to the pilgrims coming to Rome on this feast day. The pancake, cooked with superfluous flour from past harvests, was a symbol of prosperity. Its shape and color, evoking the sun and the lengthening of the days, were synonymous with hope. (Source.)

The date to stuff yourself with pancakes without feeling guilty : February 2. Every year. From the beginning.

2. Valentine’s Day, invented by… Gélase I!

Sacred Gelasius! Without it, life would still be much more gloomy… Without color, without flavor, and above all, without a boom day for florists. Sad. After having established the day of the pancakes, place at that of the lovers. And since life is only an eternal restart, it is here also linked to the Lupercalia! During this pagan celebration, men roamed the city whipping women on the stomach with leather thongs to make them fertile”. Nickel. Fortunately, there was no question for the pope of reestablishing this thing, on the contrary… To take the opposite view of this pagan procession that was not ultra ethical, he instituted a feast of “spiritual love” on February 14th. More corny the Praline, but still nicer.

Finally… It’s all the same quickly said… According to Jean-Claude Kaufmann for this article from Geo, in the Middle Ages, Valentine’s Day was an opportunity to celebrate the “carnival of love”. The men dress up as bears, with ultra-sexual symbolism. ” They catch the women and drag them into their lair, where many rapes take place. It was a violent and sexist practice, but at the time very widespread and unpunished..”. There you go, not so mims as that.

The date to ignore because this party stinks of uc : February 14th. (Unless your name is Valentin. There… We accept).

3. Mother’s Day… Anna Jarvis or Pétain?

Contrary to what you can read everywhere: NO, Pétain is not at the origin of Mother’s Day. Already during antiquity, the figure of the mother was honored. In Greece, Gaia and Rhea are celebrated during large banquets. In Rome, every March 1, we celebrate the “magna mater” (“the matronales”). The tradition was lost for a time, then returned to the United Kingdom in the 15th century with the “mothering sunday”. On this day, the servants get leave to visit their families. The European party crosses the Atlantic and settles in the United States, under the impetus… of Anna Jarvis! Although she didn’t really create the party as we can often read, she imported it to the states. On May 12, 1907, to pay homage to her mother who had died two years earlier, she launched a campaign to make “Mother’s Day” an official holiday. Victory in 1914, when the American government approves the text. Since that date, the second Sunday of May is a public holiday in the USA. (Source: the dispatch, Slate)

This year it was the : May 29. Yup, too late if you forgot… Bunch of ungrateful children.

4. … And Father’s Day, initiated by Marcel Quercia in France, and Sonora Louise Smart in the USA

Like the vast majority of holidays in our Christian calendar, Father’s Day first appears as a religious holiday. In the 15th century, on March 19 (6 days before the Annunciation), the figure of Joseph, adoptive father of Jesus, was celebrated. In the 19th century, under the impetus of Pope Pius IX, the tradition developed briefly, then fell into oblivion.

In 1950, Marcel Quercia was at the head of a Breton gas lighter company: Flaminaire. Faced with the poor turnover of the first half of the years, he is looking for a new selling point. He therefore launched an advertising campaign, on which we can read ” Fathers Day ! Give him a Flaminaire, the lighter that keeps all its promises ! “. And boom! A masterstroke that perpetuates the celebration on a national scale. (Source)

Remember to buy your gift before : June 19.

In the USA, Sonora Louise Smart is responsible for Father’s Day. In 1898, his mother died in childbirth. His father therefore ensures, alone, the education of all the siblings. When she hears about the establishment of Mother’s Day in her country, she decides to campaign for fathers to obtain the same recognition. We are then in 1909. She proposes the date of June 5, her father’s birthday, to the Ministerial Alliance of Spokane (town near her house, between Washington and Creston). In 1910, the festival was celebrated for the first time, only in this commune. The idea spread and the city received, in 1916, a telegraph from President Woodrow Wilson to praise the idea of ​​this celebration. On the other hand, it will be necessary to wait 50 more years for the American government of Lyndon B. Johnson to officially proclaim the date of Father’s Day and add it to the calendar. (Source)

5. Grandparents’ parties, a brand on one side, Frank Izquierdo on the other

Honor to women, let’s start with Grandmother’s Day! This time, 0 biblical report, 100% marketing. It was the “Café Grand’Mère” brand that gave birth to the celebration in 1987. Objective: to make money, by celebrating the positive and comforting figure of our little grannies. Good game. In France, to celebrate your grandmothers, it’s every first Sunday of March (yes, it’s over). (Source.)

Make way for grandpas now! Grandfather’s Day is not very popular and celebrated. Perhaps because it is actually too recent to really take root in mores? Or because we’re tired of being taken for idiots? In any case, it was only set up in 2008 by Franck Izquierdo, a guy who received the bronze medal (Prefect of Police Prize) at the 1991 Lépine Competition for the invention of a disposable toothbrush. Yeah, that doesn’t make any sense. To celebrate your grandfathers: make a small cross on the first Sunday of October. The 2, this year.

6. The music festival, thought by Jack Lang, but not only…

Okay, I’m not telling you much here… It was Jack Lang, Minister of Culture from 1981 to 1986, then from 1988 to 1993, who launched the first edition of the Fête de la Musique in 1982. But it may well be that two other names enter the algorithm: Maurice Fleuret and Joël Cohen. Indeed, in 1976, the American musician J. Cohen was working for France Musique. He then proposed to organize “Saturnales de la Musique” on June 21 and December 21. He then thinks of a special musical program broadcast all night long, to celebrate music. At that time, it was Maurice Fleuret, composer and director of Music and Dance at the Ministry of Culture, who was in charge of a weekly program on the same channel. It could therefore well be that the idea circulated between the 3 characters before being definitively put in place! (Source.)

To wiggle your hips to the rhythm of the guitars : June 21, like every year (except during the Covid. Snif. period).

7. Neighbors Day, on the initiative of Atanase Périfan

Behind the 12 vegetable quiches and 10 tabbouleh displayed in the courtyard of the building, a man: Atanase Périfan. At the end of the 1990s, he was elected local in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. The idea of ​​the Neighbors Day came to him after a very sordid and sad incident: the discovery of the body of an elderly woman, who had died in her apartment 4 months before, without anyone realizing it. Horrible. He then founded the association “Paris d’amis” to strengthen close ties and fight against isolation. The idea of ​​a shared meal was inspired by the Toulouse neighborhood of Arnaud Bernard, who since 1991 has been organizing “neighborhood meals”. (Source.)

To test your cooking skills on your neighbors : May 20. YES, IT’S ALREADY PASSED. VERY GOOD.

8. Halloween, a celebration of Celtic origin

We tend to associate Halloween with America, and yet… Halloween actually originated in the Celtic world. In truth, its birth is so distant (2500 years) that it is difficult to restore its entire history, especially since the sources are varied and contradictory. Several historians still agree on one point: Halloween was strongly forged by Samhain. Among the Celts, October 31 was considered the last day of the year. This last night opened “the doors of the world of the living to that of the dead”. Samain, the god of death, was then celebrated. According to legend, the spirits took advantage of this holiday to descend to Earth and visit the living. That’s why we used to dress up: to frighten away these ghosts. Irish immigrants then brought and spread this custom in English-speaking countries. So there is not one person, but a whole people and pagan beliefs behind this festival! (Source.)