Holiday
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The word holiday has related but different meanings in English-speaking countries, with the exception of the United States where usage differs greatly. Based on the English words holy and day, holidays originally represented special days of the Christian Church calendar. The word has evolved in general usage to mean any special day.
In the United States, a holiday is a day set aside by a nation or culture (in some cases, multiple nations and cultures) typically for celebration but sometimes for some other kind of special culture-wide (or national) observation or activity. In the United States, a holiday can also be a special day on which school and/or offices are closed such as Labor Day.
In most of the rest of the English speaking world (including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom) a holiday is rather a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation (e.g. "I'm going on holiday to Majorca next week."), the American equivalent being "vacation".
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Public holidays
A public holiday or legal holiday is a holiday endorsed by the state. Public holidays can be either religious, in which case they reflect the dominant religion in a country, or secular, in which case they are usually political or historical in character. "Public Holiday" is the term used in Australia, and "Bank Holiday" in the UK, although some industries in the UK work through Bank Holidays. "Legal Holiday" is not a term used outside the United States.
Consecutive holidays
Consecutive holidays are a string of holidays taken together without working days in between. They tend to be considered a good chance to take short trips, for example. In late 1990s, the Japanese government passed a law that increases the likelihood of consecutive holidays by moving holidays fixed on certain day to a relative position in a month such as the second Monday. A well-known consecutive holiday in Japan is golden-week, roughly lasting a whole week. Similar phenomenon appears in Poland during holidays of 1st and 3rd of May, when taking few days of leave can result in even 9 days long holidays. This is called The Picnic (or Maj󷫡).
The Congress of the United States changed the observance of Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Washington's Birthday from fixed dates to certain Mondays in 1968 (effective 1971). Several states had passed similar laws earlier.
Religious holidays
Buddhist holidays
Celtic, Norse, and Neopagan holidays
In the order of the Wheel of the Year:
- Samhain (Celtic): 31 October-1 November, Celtic New Year, first day of winter
- Winternights (Norse): 29 October-2 November, Norse New Year
- Yule (Norse): 21 December-22 December, winter solstice, Celtic mid-winter
- Imbolc (Celtic): 1 February-2 February, Celtic first day of spring
- Ostara/Easter (Norse): 21 March-22 march, vernal equinox, Celtic mid-spring
- Beltane (Celtic): 30 April-1 May, Celtic first day of summer
- Litha (Norse): 21 June-22 June, summer solstice, Celtic mid-summer
- Lughnasadh (Celtic): 1 August-2 August, Celtic first day of autumn
- Mabon/Harvest End (Norse): 21 September-22 September, autumnal equinox, Celtic mid-fall
Christian holidays
See also liturgical year.
- Advent
- All Saints Day
- Ascension Day (Ascension of Jesus Christ into Heaven)
- Ash Wednesday
- Assumption of Mary (Assumption of the Virgin Mary)
- Candlemas
- Christmas (Birth of Jesus)
- Corpus Christi
- Easter (Resurrection of Jesus)
- Easter Triduum
- Easter Vigil
- Good Friday (Death of Jesus)
- Holy Saturday
- Maundy Thursday (Celebration of The Last Supper)
- Epiphany
- Lent
- Pentecost or Whitsun (Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus Christ)
- Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras (last day of Carnival)
- Winter Lent
- Watch Night
The Catholic fiestas patronales are celebrated in each place's patron saint's day, according to the Calendar of saints.
Hindu holidays
- Baisakhi
- Daserra
- Diwali
- Ekadasi
- Ganesh Chaturthi
- Gokul Ashtami
- Gudhi Padwa
- Holi
- Mahashivratri
- Makar Sankranti
- Onam
- Pongal
- Rama-Lilas
- Ram Navami
- Vaikunta Ekadasi
Islamic holidays
- Aashurah (especially in Shi'a Islam)
- Eid: date determined by the lunar calendar and observation of the moon
- Eid ul-Fitr, Lesser Bairam
- Eid ul-Adha, Greater Bairam
- Moharrum
- Ramadan
Jewish holidays
Main article: Jewish holidays
- Hanukkah (also: Hannukah; the Feast of Lights)
- Jerusalem Day (Celebration day for Jerusalem)
- Lag Ba'omer
- Passover
- Purim (Based on the events in the Biblical book of Esther)
- Rosh Hashanah (Spiritual New Year)
- Shavuot (The Feast of Weeks)
- Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles)
- Tisha B'Av
- Tu Bishvat (New year of the trees)
- Yom Ha'atzma'ut (Israel independence day)
- Yom Ha'Shoah (Holocaust remembrance day)
- Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
- Yom Ha'Zikaron (Israel memorial day)
International holidays (secular)
Many other days are marked to celebrate events or people, but are not strictly holidays as time off work is rarely given.
- Perihelion (January 3-6, depending on year and location)
- Breakup Day (February 13)
- Valentine's Day (February 14)
- Leap Day (February 29, every four years)
- Astronomy Day (date varies depending on cycle of Moon)
- April Fool's Day (April 1)
- Earth Day (April 22)
- Labour Day, Worker's Day or May Day (May 1, most countries - United States and Canada are prominent exceptions)
- Mother's Day (2nd Sunday in May in North America, fourth Sunday in Lent in UK)
- World Ocean Day (June 8)
- Father's Day (3rd Sunday in June; March 19, others; August 8, Republic of China)
- Halloween (October 31)
- United Nations holidays
Other secular holidays
Other secular holidays limited to only some (groups of) countries include:
- Boxing Day (December 26 in the Commonwealth countries)
- Flag Day (June 14 in the United States)
- Grandparent's Day (Sunday after September Labor Day - proclaimed in the United States by Jimmy Carter in 1978)
- Lee-Jackson-King Day (January 20) Combined holiday celebrated in the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1984 to 2000
- Groundhog Day (February 2 in United States and Canada)
- Loyalty Day (May 1 in the United States)
- Mother-in-Law's Day (4th Sunday in October, where?)
- Pioneer Day (July 24 in Utah, United States)
- Sweetest Day (third Saturday in October, Ohio and Michigan in the United States)
- Holidays originating in ancient Latvia