Holiday

A holiday is 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.

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, or even non-special day on which school or offices are closed such as Sunday.

Consectuive holidays are days without any break of working day[?]. They tend to be considered a period of good chance to go short trips, for example. In late 1990s, the Japanese government, keen to lift its government, passed a law that increases the likehood of consecutive holiday by moving holydays fixed on certain day to relative position in a month such as the second Monday. The well-known consecutive holidays in Japan is golden-weeek, roughtly lasting a whole week.

In late 20-centry, Saturday has become increasingly considered holiday as well as Sunday.

Jewish-holidays

• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
• Passover
• Rosh Hashanah (Spiritual New Year)
• Purim (Based on the events in the Biblical book of Esther)
• Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles)
• Hannukah (also: Chanukah; the Feast of Lights)
• Tu B'shevat[?] (New year of the trees)
• Purim
• Yom HaShoah[?] (Holocaust remembrance day)
• Yom Ha'atzma'ut[?] (Israel independence day)
• Shavuot (The Feast of Weeks)
• Tisha B'Av[?]

Christian holidays:

• Christmas (Birth of Jesus Christ)
• Good Friday (Death of Jesus Christ)
• Easter (Resurrection of Jesus Christ)
• Ascension Day (Ascension of Jesus Christ into Heaven)
• Pentecost (Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus Christ)
• Whitsun
• All Saints Day
• (see liturgical year for a more complete list)

Islamic/Muslim holidays

• Ramadan
• Eid al Fitr[?], Lesser Bairam
• Eid al Adha[?], Greater Bairam

National holidays:

• Australia
  • ANZAC Day (also New Zealand) (April 25)
  • Australia Day (January 27)
  • Remembrance Day (November 11) - NOT a public holiday
  • Queen's Birthday Holiday[?] (June 8)
  • Melbourne Cup Day[?] (first tuesday in November) - Victoria only
  • Show Day[?] (localised holiday, on a different day in each region)
• Canada -- See list at http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/jfa-ha/index-e.cfm
  • Victoria Day (First Monday on or before May 24)
  • Canada Day (July 1)
• The Netherlands
  • Queen's day (April 30)
  • Remembrance of the dead (May 4)
  • Liberation day (May 5)
• South Africa
  • Human Rights Day[?] (March 21)
  • Freedom day[?] (April 27)
  • Youth Day[?] (June 16)
  • National Womens Day[?] (August 9)
  • Heritage Day[?] (September 24)
  • Day of Reconciliation[?] (December 16)
• United Kingdom
  • see Bank Holiday
• United States
  • New Year's Day (January 1)
  • Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (third Monday in January)
  • Washington's Birthday[?] (third Monday in February)
  • Memorial Day (fourth Monday in May; originally May 30)
  • Independence Day (July 4)
  • Labor Day (first Monday in September)
  • Columbus Day (second Monday in October; originally October 12)
  • Veteran's Day (second Monday in November; originally November 11)
  • Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November)
  • Christmas Day (December 25)
• Mexico
  • Día de la Constitución (February 5)
  • Natalicio de Benito Juárez (March 21)
  • Día del Trabajo (May 1)
  • Cinco de Mayo (May 5)
  • Dieciséis de Septiembre (September 16), Mexican independence day
  • Día de la Revolución (November 20)

• Italy
  • Capodanno (New Years Day) (January 1)
  • Epifania[?] (January 6
  • Rome's foundation[?] (April 21) (in Rome only)
  • St. Peter and St. Paul (June 30) (in Rome only)
  • Ferragosto (August 15)
  • The Victory on WWI (November 4)

• Sweden

See Holidays in Sweden

Other holidays:

• Groundhog Day (February 2)
• April Fool's Day (April 1)
• Earth day[?] (April 22)
• Boxing Day (December 26)
• Father's Day (3rd Sunday in June)
• Grandparent's Day[?] (Sunday after September Labor Day - proclaimed by Jimmy Carter in 1978)
• Halloween (October 31)
• Mother's Day (2nd Sunday in May)
• Mother-in-Law's Day[?] (4th Sunday in October)
• New Year's Day - (January 1)
• Programmer's day (256th day of the year)
• Valentine's Day (February 14)
• Worker's Day or May Day (May 1, most countries - United States and Canada are prominent exceptions)

External Links:

• Bizarre American Holidays (http://library.thinkquest.org/2886/INDEX.HTM) -- a comprehensive compilation of special recognition given both to months and individual days. Unfortunately, the origins of the commemorations aren't provided.

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In the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, a holiday is also a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation (e.g., "I'm going on holiday to Majorca next week"), like an American "vacation[?]".

Farm holiday: see Agriturismo.

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BTW, we need to add all those national holiday articles, recently added to Encyclopedian, to this page.