Comment | The number of Arkiva shirts is the maximum this year – It's nothing if you compare it to 1706

The year 2024 is the year of public holidays and long weekends. There are always at least seven public holidays that fall on weekdays, but this year as many as possible: ten.

That's a wonderful thought. The joy is not even spoiled by the knowledge that in the 18th century there were significantly more casual clothes than today. However, not everyone could hit a weekday in the same year. Special designer of the university's almanac office Asko Palviainen calculated, at the request of the Kuukausiliitti, that there were 39 possible days off at that time, although some of the cases were unclear.

Palviainen says that the investigative work was made difficult, for example, by the fact that it was very difficult to find out about the original text of the calendar in some places. Palviainen used as his main source 1706 almanac printings. Still: when unclear cases are left out of the invoices, there were thirty possible days off even then that year.

“However, it must be taken into account that the definition of everyday life has changed more than ever. Back in the day, Saturday was a normal working day. Nowadays, it is placed on the weekend as a day off, depending on the work,” says Palviainen.

Arkivapai's inexorable decline began in 1774 with the reform that came into effect. Then, for example, the 3rd and 4th of Easter, Pentecost and Christmas Day were changed to weekdays, and for example Candlemas Day, Michaelmas Day and All Saints' Day were moved to the weekend.

Finland, which lived under Swedish rule, lost half of the weekdays in the 18th century due to the reform. Even after that, public holidays have been moved, but on a smaller scale.

That too it is good to remember that we have the current number of public holidays Mauno from Koivisto despite.

In 1972, Epiphany, Maundy Thursday and the 2nd day of Pentecost were moved to Saturday. The labor market organizations were proactive, and the church was justified in the fact that public holidays are man-made regulations that can be changed.

Ten years later, in the 1980s, the church council took the initiative that those weekdays moved to weekends, Epiphany and Holy Thursday, be returned as extra days off. Parliament approved the law in 1985.

The conversation was heated. Labor market organizations objected. President Koivisto was upset.

Koivisto postponed the entry into force of the law by five years by virtue of his powers. It was a surprising bet, as is the case on a global scale, that in Finland, over the years, weekdays have generally been able to be removed and moved.

The principle has been the same in Finland since the 18th century. We want as many normal working weeks as possible for the year. Fortunately, this year we are far from that.

Read more: The holiday jackpot is coming this year: “The best result you can get for one year”