Look at these examples:
On est sortis à la Saint-Valentin.
We went out on Valentine's Day.
Le jour de la Saint-Valentin, tu passes du temps avec ton bien-aimé.
On Valentine's Day, you spend time with your loved one.
À la Sainte-Catherine, les femmes célibataires mangent du gâteau.
On St Catherine's Day, single women eat cake.
Le jour de la Sainte-Catherine, les femmes célibataires mangent du gâteau.
On St Catherine's Day, single women eat cake.
Je suis né à la Saint-Georges.
I was born on St George's day.
Je suis né le jour de la Saint-Georges.
I was born on St George's day.
Note that when talking about doing something on a name day, you can use either:
or
le jour de la + Saint(e) [name].
While à la is more general, le jour de la insists a bit more on the very day.
It's because they're considered as la fête de = the celebration of that name.
Therefore, you will always say à la + [name day], or le jour de la + [name day].
À la Toussaint en France, les gens ne travaillent pas.
On All Saints' Day in France, people don't work.
Le jour de la Toussaint, on met des fleurs sur la tombe des gens que l'on a perdus.
On All Saints' Day, we put flowers on the grave of people we lost.
Also see Using prepositions with celebration days, like Christmas
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Le jour de la Saint-Valentin, tu passes du temps avec ton bien-aimé.
On Valentine's Day, you spend time with your loved one.
À la Sainte-Catherine, les femmes célibataires mangent du gâteau.
On St Catherine's Day, single women eat cake.
On est sortis à la Saint-Valentin.
We went out on Valentine's Day.
À la Toussaint en France, les gens ne travaillent pas.
On All Saints' Day in France, people don't work.
Le jour de la Saint-Jean, on fait un grand feu de joie.
On St John's Day, we have a big bonfire.
Le jour de la Toussaint, on met des fleurs sur la tombe des gens que l'on a perdus.
On All Saints' Day, we put flowers on the grave of people we lost.
Je suis né le jour de la Saint-Georges.
I was born on St George's day.
Je me souviens, c'était à la St Jean.
I remember, it was on St John's Day.
Je suis né à la Saint-Georges.
I was born on St George's day.
Le jour de la Sainte-Catherine, les femmes célibataires mangent du gâteau.
On St Catherine's Day, single women eat cake.
Q&A
Ron
Kwiziq community member
27/04/17
Meghna
Kwiziq community member
27/04/17
Ron
Kwiziq community member
2/05/17
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
10/03/17
Nabeel
Kwiziq community member
6 June 2018
1 reply
An extra detail
la tombe des gens que l'on a perdus
Why don’t we say
la tombe des gens qu’on a perdus
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
6 June 2018
6/06/18
Bonjour Nabeel !
Here both versions are correct :)
Using "l'on" is considered more elegant, as it's an antiquated version of "on", but both are perfectly acceptable.
Here's our partner LawlessFrench's page on the subject:
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/pronunciation/euphony/
Bonne journée !