In brief
- The Higher Education Council adopted, in early October, an amendment proposing “end-of-year holidays” instead of Christmas Holidays and “autumn holidays” instead of All Saints’ Holidays.
- This resolution remains advisory. It does not, by itself, change the School Calendar or the documents sent to families.
- The Government and the Education Ministry’s entourage have stated that no Name Change is planned.
- The debate concerns secularism, the neutrality of Public Education, and the place of Traditions in School Holidays.
- The usual names continue to be used for school breaks, including in the reference points proposed for the 2026-2027 school holidays.
Christmas and All Saints’ Holidays: no school reform initiated by the Government
Families often plan holidays several months in advance, balancing bookings, child care, family reunions, and the very concrete need to catch a breath after a long School Period. The announcement of a possible renaming of Christmas and All Saints’ Holidays therefore sparked legitimate questions, sometimes amplified by headlines implying a decision had already been made.
The facts are simpler. In early October, the Higher Education Council, often known by the acronym CSE, examined an amendment concerning the vocabulary used for two breaks in the calendar. The text proposed replacing “Christmas holidays” with “end-of-year holidays” and “All Saints’ holidays” with “autumn holidays”. The vote, adopted by 44 votes to 7 on October 3 after a first discussion on October 1, gave national visibility to the subject.
A CSE vote does not constitute a government decision applicable in schools. This body issues opinions on texts and orientations related to Education. Its role is significant in public debate, but it does not have the power to single-handedly change the administrative wording of the School Calendar. A reform then requires a political decision, published texts, and a clearly announced implementation.
The Education Ministry quickly dismissed this prospect. According to a statement relayed in the media, Elisabeth Borne’s entourage specified that renaming school holidays was not planned and had not been considered. This firm wording responds to a frequent confusion between a proposal voted in an advisory body and a measure actually carried by the Government.
For parents, the concrete reference is clear. School letters, academic platforms, calendars distributed by local authorities, and family habits continue to rely on the familiar terms. Children therefore still hear about the All Saints holiday in autumn and Christmas holiday at the end of the first term, with no change in duration or dates linked to this proposal.
This type of information may seem secondary to an adult, but words also serve as temporal markers for children. Between ages 3 and 6, the understanding of time remains closely linked to repeated and concrete events. “After the All Saints holiday,” “before Christmas,” or “at the January return” are markers that children associate with decorations, weather, trips to grandparents, or school closures.
A lexical change would not disrupt their development, but it would require a simple and coherent explanation if it were ever decided. Saying that the same break can have another name, while keeping the same dates and habits, is generally enough. Children do not need an abstract debate about institutions to understand that a calendar can evolve.
The question of the name therefore has not changed the daily organization of families. It rather revealed a symbolic debate, which deserves to be distinguished from a practical announcement concerning the dates, school zones, or childcare solutions.
Why the renaming of school holidays fuels a debate on secularism
The amendment discussed at the Higher Education Council did not concern the removal of breaks, their duration, or the organization of learning. It pertained solely to the names. The unions that originated the proposal saw it as a way to strengthen the religious neutrality of the public school, by using seasonal terms rather than references linked to Christian holidays.
This position is based on a precise reading of secularism. Public school welcomes children and families with very different beliefs, cultures, and histories. Using “autumn holidays” or “end-of-year holidays” could, according to the amendment’s defenders, better reflect this common framework without erasing celebrations experienced in families.
FCPE, the main federation of parents of pupils, also highlighted the symbolic scope of the debate. Its representative recalled that the subject was not among the urgent issues of the education system, while considering that terminology could recall the principle of the Republic’s neutrality. This nuance is useful. A symbol can matter, without automatically becoming a school Reform priority.
In schools, the distinction between the institutional calendar and personal practices already exists. A class can work on winter, lights in different cultures, holiday stories, or family traditions, provided the content remains compatible with curricula and the neutrality of the public service. Children can also talk about what they experience at home, without the school organizing a religious practice.
Secularism does not ask families to erase their holidays, it sets the common framework in which the school welcomes all children. This difference protects as much children attached to a religious tradition as those who follow none. It prevents a student from feeling that their family history is imposed on others or, conversely, that it must be hidden.
School vocabulary can nevertheless carry strong emotional weight. Christmas Holidays evoke for some children family meals, a temporary break from school, presents, or a trip. For others, they simply designate two cold weeks where sleep patterns change, parents sometimes work more, and childcare habits change. An administrative term never sums up all these realities.
Parents can help a child distinguish between the collective name given by the school and the household rituals. A short sentence is enough, for example by explaining that the school uses a calendar shared by everyone, while each family celebrates or not certain holidays according to their choices. This statement prevents turning a vocabulary discussion into an anxiety-provoking topic.
Kindergarten and early elementary children are particularly sensitive to routine stability. When adults talk about a possible change, it is better to specify what does not move. School closes on the same planned dates. Returning to class is still announced by the teacher. Family habits remain possible. The child’s brain anticipates a transition more easily when it knows the concrete sequences that await it.
The scope of the debate therefore goes beyond the name of the breaks alone. It questions how the National Education designates collective time, while leaving households the freedom to live their own Traditions.
From the name of Easter holidays to school holidays: what the history of the calendar shows
The proposal studied for autumn and end-of-year holidays is not without precedent. In 1974, “Easter holidays” became “spring holidays”. The change established a designation linked to the season rather than a religious holiday. Today, this vocabulary is familiar to most families, including those who celebrate Easter.
This historical evolution illuminates the current debate without being enough to predict an identical decision. Political contexts, school rhythms, and citizen expectations have changed. Above all, the shift from “Easter” to “spring” was inscribed within an official framework, whereas the recent proposal did not lead to a Government measure.
The French School Calendar bears the trace of several logics. It takes account of seasons, the alternation between class and rest periods, economic constraints linked to tourism, geographical zones, and the country’s cultural history. The current names are therefore not just labels. They condense administrative habits and markers shared by several generations.
| Name | Evolution or status | Reference point for families |
|---|---|---|
| Easter holidays | Replaced by “spring holidays” in 1974 | The change was durably integrated into school language. |
| All Saints’ holidays | Proposal to call them “autumn holidays”, without government decision | Official calendars retain the usual name. |
| Christmas holidays | Proposal to call them “end-of-year holidays”, without adoption by the ministry | The dates and duration are not changed by the CSE opinion. |
| Winter holidays | Already established seasonal name | Zones A, B, and C determine dates according to the school year. |
Children do not receive these terms in a purely administrative way. They associate them with sensations and predictable scenarios. From 4 or 5 years old, they often begin to situate recurring events in an annual succession, even if the number of days or weeks remains abstract. A timeline hung at home, with departure and return dates and the people providing care, transforms a vague announcement into a concrete marker.
This organization is particularly useful when parents live separately or when a child spends holidays between several homes. The central question is not the word chosen by the calendar, but the clarity of moving from one place to another. The modalities of shared custody during holidays benefit from being explained with visual markers, without asking the child to bear the burden of adult arbitrations.
School holidays can also take different forms depending on the establishments. Some schools favor productions on winter, others organize a choir, an exhibition, or a supervised market. Families have the right to request the program, especially if they want to understand the place given to cultural and religious references. Precise information calms concerns more than a discussion fueled by rumors.
The 1974 precedent shows that vocabulary can evolve over time. It also shows that a real evolution is recognized by official documents, not simply by the circulation of a proposal in the media or social networks.
How to explain Christmas and All Saints holidays to children without creating confusion
A child sometimes hears adult conversations before being able to understand the context. They might pick up “they are going to remove Christmas from school” or “holidays will change”, whereas no calendar change has been decided. Parents can then return to the facts, with words adapted to the child’s age and without burdening the subject.
For a child aged 3 to 6, time is understood through routines. Saying “you will still go to school until this date, then you’ll be with dad, mom, grandparents, or at the leisure center” is more accessible than an institutional explanation. An illustrated calendar with one color for school days and another for holidays makes the wait much less vague.
Between 6 and 10 years, the child can grasp that the same event carries several names depending on people or institutions. It is possible to explain that “Christmas holidays” is the name used for a long time and that some people prefer “end-of-year holidays” to speak to all families. This explanation does not require the child to form an opinion. It teaches them that disagreement can exist without threatening their markers.
A child feels more stable when adults announce what will really happen, rather than when they pass on a debate they cannot resolve. Concrete preparations here have more value than grand statements. The bag to pack, the last day of class, the person who picks up the child, and the return date are the information that support their feeling of continuity.
- Display the two or three useful dates on a visible calendar, with the last day of school and the first day back.
- Use the name already employed by the establishment, then simply add the other term if the child has heard it elsewhere.
- Describe the planned changes in rhythm, especially sleep, travel, and childcare times.
- Welcome a worry without minimizing it by responding with verifiable and brief information.
End-of-year holidays often alter bedtime schedules. Among schoolchildren, a delay of several evenings can be enough to make return more difficult, especially after journeys or late meals. Without imposing rigidity that is hard to maintain, keeping a repetitive cue helps a lot. The bedtime ritual can remain the same, even if the time is slightly pushed back.
The child’s circadian system depends on morning light, meal times, activity, and bedtime regularity. After a holiday period, a gradual restart over two or three days often reduces fatigue. Opening blinds upon waking, planning quiet time late in the day, and returning to normal meal times are simple gestures that give the body coherent signals.
A behavioral change during a school break does not automatically signal difficulty. More irritability, increased need for closeness, or bedtime resistance can appear when routines are disrupted. If sleep troubles last more than two weeks after return, if the child is exhausted during the day, snores regularly with observed breathing pauses, or shows intense anxiety, a discussion with the treating physician or pediatrician provides an appropriate framework.
Adults can also avoid making School Holidays a test of belonging. A child can participate in a cultural activity, enjoy decorations, or tell a family tradition without having to justify what they believe, celebrate, or do not celebrate. School then serves as a common place, while home retains its intimate space.
School calendar 2026-2027: distinguishing official dates from debates on naming
To organize family life, one rule protects against imprecise information. Holiday dates are verified on official sources of National Education or with the establishment, while debates about names belong to another level. A proposal discussed at the CSE can feed public reflection without producing immediate consequences on schedules, leisure center registrations, or transport bookings.
The concerned period is sometimes presented as a “reform” although there exists neither a published regulatory text, nor date changes, nor instructions requesting schools to modify their communications. Using the term School Reform implies a structured change in the organization of Education. Here, the official response explicitly closed the door to a Name Change carried by the Government.
Vigilance is useful against rapid formulations. “The CSE votes” does not mean “the ministry decides”. “An organization proposes” does not mean “schools apply”. “A debate on secularism” does not mean “family Traditions are forbidden”. These distinctions prevent parents from devoting energy to worry without effect on their child.
Practical needs, however, remain very real. Families expecting a baby, returning to work, or needing to coordinate several childcare arrangements often anticipate holidays long before the start of term. Questions related to rights, availability, and family support can be prepared from reliable information on parental leave and frequent questions, without confusing this organization with the calendar vocabulary.
A child under 3 does not yet understand the School Period like a primary school student. They mainly feel presence variations, early waking, location changes, and adults’ emotional states. For them, anticipation relies on repeated routines. Preparing the coat and comforter the day before, telling them who will pick them up after the meal or maintaining a song before bed are markers more meaningful than the administrative name of the holidays.
For the older child, preparation can become participatory. They can note on the calendar a stay, a day at a relative’s, or the resumption of sports. This participation should not burden them with complex decisions but improves their ability to anticipate. The child’s brain gradually builds executive functions, including planning and flexibility. Putting words on transitions nurtures this learning.
Parents can ask for clarification at school if communication appears contradictory. A factual sentence is enough, asking whether the dates have changed or if only the vocabulary varies in a document. In most cases, the educational team has the same official information as families and can guide towards the academic calendar.
Consultation with a doctor or pediatrician becomes relevant when holiday transitions reveal a persistent suffering in the child. Repeated stomach aches on school days, persistent night wakings, emerging school refusal, notable loss of appetite, or daily sadness beyond two weeks deserve to be heard. These signs are not caused by the holiday name, but changes in rhythm can sometimes highlight an already present difficulty.
The debate around Christmas and All Saints’ Holidays may continue to fuel exchanges on neutrality, symbols, and the role of the institution. For now, families can rely on one stable fact. The usual names remain in place, and the published dates remain the right tool to organize children’s weeks.
Has the Government decided to rename Christmas holidays?
No. The Ministry of Education indicated that a change of name was not planned. The proposal examined by the Higher Education Council did not lead to a government decision.
Why did the Higher Education Council propose new names?
Supporters of the amendment wished to use seasonal terms, such as “autumn holidays” and “end-of-year holidays”, to recall the religious neutrality of the public school.
Have the school holiday dates changed?
No. The debate only concerned the names. The dates, duration of breaks, and zone organization remain fixed by the official calendar.
Have the Easter holidays already changed name?
Yes. In 1974, the expression “Easter holidays” was replaced by “spring holidays”. This historical evolution is often cited in current discussions.
How to respond to a worried child after hearing about this debate?
Simply explain that school and holidays remain scheduled at the same dates. Give them concrete markers on care days, possible departures, and the return to class.
