respectively. The Michaelmas term, and legal year, is opened with a service in St. Michan's Church, Dublin attended by members of the Bar and Law Society who then adjourn to a breakfast given in the King's Inns. France In France, a « rentrée solennelle », a ceremonial sitting of the court, is held in most courts in September to swear in new judges and in January or February, to mark the start of the legal year. New judges may also be sworn in at that event. Bar associations (« barreaux »), especially larger ones, may also hold a « rentrée solennelle » but often at a completely different time of the year to the court-organised official ceremonies, such as in November French courts do not sit in a formal term structure, although the practice of « vacances judiciaires » (legal vacations) between July and the end of August, in late December around Christmas and New Year's and, to a lesser extent, Easter, mean that courts often do not sit to hear non-urgent business during those times, creating, de facto, three legal terms each year. North America Canada Courts in Canada do not have formal terms. They are open year-round but tend to be less busy over the summer months. There is a formal opening of the courts in Ontario in September. Unlike the US Supreme Court, there is no requirement to issue decisions before the end of the legal year; instead, decisions must be released within a certain period after the trial or appeal. United States The United States Supreme Court follows part of the legal year tradition, albeit without the elaborate ceremony. The court's year-long term commences on the first Monday in October (and is simply called "October Term"), with a Red Mass the day before. The court then alternates between "sittings" and "recesses" and goes into final recess at the end of June. Several Midwest and East Coast states and some federal courts still use the legal year and terms of court. Like the Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has a single year-long term with designated sittings within that term, although the Second Circuit begins its term in August instead of October (hence the name "August Term"). The U.S. Tax Court divides the year into four season-based terms starting in January. Connecticut appellate courts divide the legal year into eight terms starting