Le Jeûne genevois Thursday, 11 September 2014

SARAH JORDAN, UNOG

Maybe you are enjoying a leisurely read of your UN Special magazine on a very welcome early September Thursday off work – the Jeûne genevois. Like many, you have maybe added a day of annual leave on Friday resulting in a nice long weekend and a last taste of summer before the autumn sets in.

But just what is this Genevan public holiday all about? First of all, for those whose French is more spoken than written and at the risk of stating the obvious, jeune and jeûne, although pronounced the same way, do not have the same meaning. The first is an adjective meaning young and the second a noun meaning fast (i.e. not eating). So, an accurate translation of Jeûne genevois would be Genevan Fast and not young Genevan! Yet nobody appears to fast on this day. On the contrary, restaurants in and around Geneva do a roaring trade.

Well, the reason for this is certainly that the Jeûne genevois is an ancient holiday and as times have changed, it has become more secular. The Jeûne genevois started in the 1560s, during the French Wars of Religion. The Genevans at that time were very close to French Protestants and the Genevan authorities instituted a day of mourning and fasting in remembrance of those killed in massacres in France, notably in nearby Lyon. The Jeûne genevois later came to be associated with the Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre, which took place in Paris in 1572.

Another question that perplexes those living in Geneva is precisely when does this holiday take place. It is common knowledge that the Jeûne genevois takes place on a Thursday but sometimes it’s the first Thursday of the month of September and sometimes the second. Now why is that?

Well, in fact, the Jeûne genevois is celebrated on the Thursday that follows the first Sunday of September. This year the first Sunday falls on the seventh so the Jeûne genevois is on the eleventh. With this system, it will never occur later than the eleventh nor earlier than the fifth.

So, what should one do on the Jeûne genevois? Well apart from relax, one could respect one of the last traditions remaining from the era when this day was a day of fasting and eat a plum tart!

In the sixteenth century fasting was observed and all the eating houses were closed. So that women and servants could attend the religious services held on that day, they prepared plum tarts the evening before. This became the traditional dish associated with the Jeûne genevois. And why plums? Quite simply because they were in season at the beginning of September. Bon appétit!

For further information on this subject: http://goo.gl/xhtx8k