We are not only targets of terrorist attacks, but of lightning strikes as well. The world is a hazardous place. The headlines right now in France are ten children were struck by lightning at an outdoor birthday celebration leaving six seriously injured. They were in a Paris park which happens to be my favourite, the Parc Monceau. At around 3 pm today, a clap of thunder SO LOUD causing me to leap out of my chair with fright sounded over the city. It was followed by a déluge of rain.

The group of children and adults were having a birthday picnic in the park. Naturally, when the rains came, they ran for shelter under the trees. This was a mistake. As I type this, three of the children and an adult are hovering between life and death.

I’ve just googled ‘How to protect yourself in a thunderstorm’ and come up with this –

The Worst Places to Go in a Thunderstorm

If you’re caught in a thunderstorm, resist the temptation to hide under a tree. Trees are typically the tallest objects around, making them perfect targets for lightning and one of the worst places to seek shelter. If you’re near one, the lightning can jump over to you and follow your body on its way to the ground.

Conductors of electricity are highly dangerous during a storm. Avoid any electrical fences, wires or poles or industrial machinery. Water is also a conductor, so stay away from ponds, pools, puddles, streams, etc.

The illustration above shows you the best position to assume if you’re caught in a storm. In a nutshell, here’s what you should know:

• Don’t lie down: If you lie down, an electrical current passing through the ground from a nearby lightning strike can pass right through your body.
• Crouch low: Crouch low so you’re not the tallest object around, and at the same time keep your feet close together with your heels touching. This will help the electricity to go in one foot and out the other. Crouch as low to the ground as you can.
• Crouch on the balls of your feet: This way, a minimal surface of your body is touching the ground and, if a lightning strike does come through you off the ground, the current will most likely travel up one leg and down the other, missing vital organs like your heart.
• Cover your ears: Placing your hands over your ears can help minimize hearing loss from the forthcoming (loud) thunder boom.
• Beware of hair standing on end or skin tingling: These are signs that a lightning strike is imminent. Get into the crouching position immediately if you feel them (but be aware that lightning may strike without these warnings).

If You Can Make It to Your Car, Go There

 

 

We are currently enjoying a 4-day weekend here (and the weather is glorious).  Why are we enjoying this long weekend?  Because yesterday (Thursday) was Ascension Day.  Next weekend will be a 3-day weekend because of Pentecost, otherwise known as Whitsun or Whit Monday.  I had to look up the meaning of this event.  Here’s what Wikipedia says – Pentecost Monday is a Christian holiday which commemorates the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples of Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament of the Bible.

Oh, and August 15th is another national holiday – The Feast of the Day of Assumption.

The Catholic Church adopted this date as a Holy Day of Obligation to commemorate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a reference to the belief in a real, physical elevation of her sinless soul and incorrupt body into Heaven.

Sometimes I feel like I’m not living in France, but in the Vatican City.

Just out of curiosity, I looked up the dates of national holidays in Italy.  Italy does not recognize the first two above-mentioned holy days as cause for a national holiday. Neither do Spain or Portugal.  However, the day of August 15th is observed by all.

And I’m wondering…..why would Ascension Day be cause for a national holiday?  I mean, I can imagine it being a holiday in a religious institution or a private Catholic school.  But for the entire country to shut down on a Thursday to commemorate Christ’s ascension into heaven?? 

That seems a bit rich, especially when no other country does the same.

Firstly, I don’t see anyone around here going to church on Ascension Day.  Most people just seize the opportunity to take the Friday off as well and hightail it out of town. And secondly, FRANCE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A SECULAR COUNTRY.  So, again, why have these Christian holy days been decreed national holidays by the government?   

Here’s why – because by observing them, which, by the way, is a blatant transgression of the country’s secular laws, they serve as a reminder to one and all (in case we forgot) who rules around here.  Separation of church and state?   I don’t think so. 

(note – when I say ‘Christian’ I mean Catholic because Protestantism is only 2 per cent of this country’s population.) 

But who’s complaining?  No-one.  You do not see protest marches in the street with citizens clamoring “We want less paid holidays!  Down with religious holidays!” 

The word ‘secular’ in French is ‘laïcité’, derived from the word ‘laity’ which means non-clergy or layperson.  Dominique Moïsi, a French political scientist, said this – “Laïcité has become the first religion of the French Republic.”  Brilliant.

There’s a lot of hypocrisy and ambiguity surrounding the practice of this controversial word.  But that’s France.  Things are rarely straightforward here; much is cloaked in doublespeak, silence and subterfuge.

What’s important, though, is that in recent years the effectiveness of French-style secularism is being debated and criticized.  It is believed that French-style secularism masks a larger issue and this issue has a name.  Islam.  If you want to understand France today, and see how France’s new secular laws (the banning of the full-face veil, for example) are, in fact, linked to what is perceived by the French ruling class as an Islamist threat, read this informative article on the subject.