Remember: this year, for the first time, you will not have to work during All Souls

Unemployment Day in Lithuania is also November 1, All Saints’ Day, but this year it is Sunday. Then, employees will have three days off in a row: October 31 (Saturday), November 1 (Sunday) and November 2 (Monday).

In 2021 there will be up to four consecutive days of unemployment, unless this holiday is repealed.

Delphi He has previously written that the government supported the proposal of the Seimas members to introduce another new unemployment day: January 13. The Tripartite Council also agreed, but at the same time proposed eliminating on November 2. There is still no final decision from Seimas on January 13.

Provided opportunities to foster culture

The Seimas enacted Unemployment Day in 2019, when it adopted an amendment to the Labor Code put forward by members of the Lithuanian Polish Electoral Action Union of Christian Families faction.

“On Late Day, Catholics around the world pray for their precious dead relatives, spiritually close people who have gone into eternity, and for those no one remembers anymore. The memory of all the dead began to be discussed in the century. VII, and at the end of the 10th century (998) the abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Cluny, France, marked November 2 as the day of prayer for all the members of his convent who had already passed away.

This example spread to the various churches and monasteries of Europe, and in 1311 the Feast of All Saints was officially introduced into the liturgy of the Catholic Church. Around 1400, Vytautas the Great installed the Benedictines in Old Trakai. It is likely that when they moved to Lithuania (that is, since Lithuania’s baptism), they also brought Catholic All Saints’ Day.

This holiday, which has deep traditions, is still very important to most Lithuanians. In 2006, Lithuania ratified the UNESCO Convention on the Intangible Cultural Heritage, according to which it is All Saints’ Day that should receive special status as a traditional celebration of the honor of the dead with special uniqueness and vitality. Our state is responsible for its preservation and therefore must allow people to appreciate the ancient traditions of the holiday. The Council for the Protection of Ethnic Culture has also proposed adding the last days to the list of days off ”, says the explanatory note.

All Saints’ Day, which falls on November 1, is said to be dedicated to honoring those saints who do not have their own separate day on the Catholic church calendar.

“Basically, the purpose of All Saints Day is not related to the visit to the graves, but people, taking advantage of the day off only then, have made this day the main day of visiting the graves,” said the organizers of the amendment.

Therefore, in order to create opportunities for the Lithuanian people to foster traditions of honoring the dead unique to their culture and to ensure Lithuania’s commitment to the implementation of the Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage, it is proposed to declare the November 2 as a non-working day.

As established in the Labor Code, it is generally closed on the following holidays: January 1 – New Year’s Day; February 16 – Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania; March 11, the day of the restoration of the independence of Lithuania; Sunday and Monday – Christian Easter (according to Western tradition); May 1 – International Labor Day; the first Sunday in May – Mother’s Day; the first Sunday in June, Father’s Day; June 24 – Rocío and San Juan Day; July 6 – State Day (coronation of King Mindaugas of Lithuania) and the National Anthem; August 15 – Herbal (Day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary); December 24 – Christmas Day; December 25 and 26 – Christmas Days.