See also: Lists of holidays

The words holiday or vacation have related meanings in different English-speaking countries and continents, but will usually refer to one of the following activities or events:

• A general leave of absence from a regular occupation for rest or recreation
• A specific trip or journey for the purposes of recreation / tourism
• Official or unofficial observances of religious/national/cultural/other significance, often accompanied by celebrations or festivities (public/religious holiday)

A holiday or vacation trip/break will often be undertaken during specific holiday observances, or be made for specific festivals or celebrations. See also Holidays This is a of holidays and observances by various categorization English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Recreation or fun is the expenditure of time in a manner designed for therapeutic refreshment of one's Body or Mind. Recreation or fun is the expenditure of time in a manner designed for therapeutic refreshment of one's Body or Mind. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel Certain religious holidays may be of a more sombre nature. Vacation or holidays are often used as a time to spend with friends or family.

Longer breaks from a career or occupation also exist, such as a sabbatical, gap year or career break. A sabbatical (from the Latin sabbaticus, from the Greek sabbatikos, from Hebrew shabbathon, i A gap year (also known as "year out" "year off" "deferred year" "bridging year" " Overseas experience " "time off" A career break is a period of time out from Employment. Traditionally this was for mothers to raise children but it is now used for people taking time out of their Career

Contents 1 Etymology 1.1 Holiday 1.2 Vacation 2 Regional meanings 2.1 As a trip 2.2 As an observance 3 Employment issues 4 Types of holiday (observance) 4.1 Consecutive holidays 4.2 Religious holidays 4.3 Northern Hemisphere winter holidays 4.4 National holidays 4.5 Secular holidays 4.6 Unofficial holidays 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

Etymology

Holiday

Holiday is a contraction of holy and day, holidays originally represented special religious days. In Traditional grammar, a contraction is the formation of a new Word from one or more individual words SACRED was a Cubesat built by the Student Satellite Program of the University of Arizona. A day (symbol d is a unit of Time equivalent to 24 Hours and the duration of a single Rotation of planet Earth with respect to the A religious festival is a time of special importance marked by adherents to that Religion. This word has evolved in general usage to mean any special day of rest (as opposed to regular days of rest such as the weekend).

Vacation

In the United Kingdom the word "vacation" referred specifically to the long summer break taken by the law courts (and later universities)—a custom introduced by William the Conqueror from Normandy where it was intended to facilitate the grape harvest. A court is a forum used by a power base to adjudicate disputes and dispense civil, labour administrative and criminal Justice under its William I of England ( 1027 His reign which brought Norman culture to England had an enormous impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages Normandy (Normandie Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. The French term is similar to the American English: "Les Vacances. " The term derives from the fact that, in the past, upper-class families would literally move to a summer home for part of the year, leaving their usual family home vacant.

Regional meanings

As a trip

Vacation is a term used in English-speaking North America to describe a lengthy time away from work or school, a trip abroad, or simply a pleasure trip away from home, such as a trip to the beach that lasts several days or longer. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel In the rest of the English-speaking world the word holiday is used (e. g. "I'm going on holiday to Malta next week"). Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands Americans, especially those of recent British or European descent, may also use the word "holiday. " "Annual Leave" is another expression used in Commonwealth countries.

Canadians often use the terms vacation and holiday interchangeably when referring to a trip away from home or time off work. In Australia, the term can refer to a vacation or gazetted public holiday, but not to a day of observance such as Mothers' Day or Halloween. The term gazette normally refers to a Newspaper. In the governments of Commonwealth countries a gazette is an official Journal that publishes the Mother's Day is a day honoring Mothers celebrated on various days in many places around the world Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a Holiday celebrated on the night of October 31.

As an observance

In all of the English-speaking world including North America, a holiday can refer to 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) observance or activity. A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic A party is a Social gathering for Celebration and Recreation. A holiday can also be a special day on which school and/or offices are closed, such as Labor Day. Labor Day is a United States Federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September By extension, (observance)-holiday, e. g. Labour Day holiday, refers to the rest period around the official observance.

Employment issues

See also: List of statutory minimum employment leave by country

Most countries around the world have labor laws mandating a certain number of days of time off per year to be given to a worker. In most Industrialised nations advances in employee relations have seen the introduction of Statutory minimum tariffs for employee leave from work i Labour law (also known as employment or labor law is the body of Laws administrative rulings and precedents which address the legal rights of and restrictions In nearly all Canadian provinces, the legal minimum is three weeks, while in most of Europe the limit is significantly higher. Neither the U. S. ^[1] nor China requires that employees receive any vacation time at all. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National There are movements fighting for laws requiring more vacation time for American workers such as timeday.org.

In some cases "vacation holiday" is used in North America, which signifies that a vacation trip is taken during a traditional national holiday period, extended on either end of the period by taking additional time off from work. This is common in the United States where employers give far fewer annual vacation days than European employers—so stretching the related national holidays tends to conserve one's accumulated total of eligible days available for longer quality vacation excursions. This is often termed a "long weekend", if a national holiday falls next to a weekend. When national holidays fall on a normal non-working day, such as a weekend, they will sometimes be carried over to the next working day.

In the United Kingdom there is an annual issue for parents, who only have the mandated summer holidays in order to plan vacations. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Accordingly, holiday companies charge higher prices, giving an incentive for parents to use their work vacation time in term time.

Types of holiday (observance)

Main article: Lists of holidays

Consecutive holidays

Consecutive holidays are a string of holidays taken together without working days in between. See also Holidays This is a of holidays and observances by various categorization They tend to be considered a good chance to take short trips. In late 1990s, the Japanese government passed a law that increased the likelihood of consecutive holidays by moving holidays from fixed days to a relative position in a month, such as the second Monday. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Well-known consecutive holidays include:

Religious holidays

Further information: Category:Religious holidays

Several holidays are linked to faiths and religions. Christian holidays are defined as part of the liturgical year. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when The Catholic patronal feast day or 'name day' are celebrated in each place's patron saint's day, according to the Calendar of saints. The Fiestas patronales ("patronage festivals" in English) are yearly celebrations held in countries influenced by Spanish culture. The Calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a Liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more Saints In Islam, the largest holidays are Eid and Ramadan. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Ramadan or Ramazan ( Arabic: رمضان Ramaḍān) is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic Hindus, Jains and Sikhs observe several holidays, one of the largest being Diwali (Festival of Light). A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma / Shraman Dharma (जैन धर्म is an ancient religion of India. Sikh (English or; ਸਿੱਖ sikkh, IPA) is the title and name given to an adherent of Sikhism. Diwali, or Deepavali, (also called Tihar and Swanti in Nepal (Markiscarali is a major Indian and Nepalese festival and a significant Japanese holidays contain references to several different faiths and beliefs. The of 1948 (as amended establishes the occasions on which Japan has a legal Holiday. Celtic, Norse, and Neopagan holidays follow the order of the Wheel of the Year. Wheel of the Year is a Wiccan and Neopagan term for the annual cycle of the Earth 's Seasons It consists of eight festivals spaced at approximately Some are closely linked to Swedish festivities. Life of Swedish people Over 80% of Swedes belong to the Lutheran Church of Sweden, but seldom go to church There are also many well known Jewish holidays. For the Gregorian dates of Jewish Holidays see Jewish holidays 2000-2050. The Bahá'í Faith observes holidays as defined by the Bahá'í calendar. The Bahá'í Faith is a Religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind The Bahá'í calendar, also called the Badí‘ calendar, used by the Bahá'í Faith, is a Solar calendar with regular years of 365 days and Leap The Bahá'í calendar, also called the Badí‘ calendar, used by the Bahá'í Faith, is a Solar calendar with regular years of 365 days and Leap

Northern Hemisphere winter holidays

Main article: Christmas and holiday season

The winter months in the Northern Hemisphere see the observance of many holidays considered a season, often accompanied by festivals and feasts. "Christmas season" redirects here For other uses see Christmas season (disambiguation. Northern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is North of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' This is an incomplete list of festivals and holidays that take place during the Winter in the Northern hemisphere, especially those commemorating the season. The winter holiday season is known as a period of time surrounding Christmas that was formed in order to embrace all cultural and religious celebration rather than only Christian celebrations. The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Usually, this period begins near the start of November and ends with New Year's Day on January 1. New Year's Day is the first day of the Year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome (though New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC The holiday season is usually commercially referred to with a broad interpretation, avoiding the reference of specific holidays like Hanukkah or Christmas. Hanukkah (חנוכה alt Chanukah) also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Traditional "holiday season" festivities are usually associated with winter, including snowflakes and wintry songs. Winter is one of the four Seasons of Temperate zones Calculated astronomically, it begins on the Solstice and ends on the Equinox In some Christian countries, the end of the festive season is considered to be after the feast of Epiphany, although this is only within the Christian creed. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Epiphany ( Greek for "to manifest" or "to show" is a Christian Feast day which celebrates the "shining forth" or revelation of Winter holiday greetings are traditionally a part of the winter holiday season. Holiday greetings are a selection of Greetings that are often spoken with good intentions to strangers family friends or other people during the months of December and

National holidays

Main article: list of holidays by country

Several sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history. This is the list of holidays by country. Most Holidays are mentioned although some are not Public holidays Albania

Secular holidays

Several secular holidays are observed, both internationally, and across multi-country regions, often in conjunction with organisations such as the United Nations. Secularity ( adjective form secular) is the state of being separate from Religion. This is not a list of National Days commemorative days, or days which have some significance in one or a very small number of countries The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Many other days are marked to celebrate events or people, but are not strictly holidays as time off work is rarely given.

Unofficial holidays

See also: :Category:Unofficial observances

These are holidays that are not traditionally marked on calendars. These holidays are celebrated by various groups and individuals. Some are designed to promote a cause, others recognize historical events not recognized officially, and others are "funny" holidays, generally intended as humorous distractions and excuses to share laughs among friends.

See also

• Federal holiday
• Bank Holiday
• Holiday heart syndrome
• Adventure tourism
• Lists of holidays
• List of statutory minimum employment leave by country
• List of vacation resorts
• List of holidays by country
• Christmas controversy
• Easter/Good Friday controversy
• Luxury resorts
• Scientology holidays
• Holiday characters
• Furlough
• Labour and employment law
• Long service leave
• Luxury resorts
• Sick leave
• Tourism
• Volunteer Vacation

References

External links

• Holidays -- Calendars and Lists at the Open Directory Project
• Holiday Stress Brings Anxiety and Abuse (ABC News)
• Internet Accuracy Project U. The Open Directory Project ( ODP) also known as dmoz (from directory S. Mail holidays - UPS holidays - FedEx holidays
• Calendar of all legal Public and Bank Holidays worldwide, until 2050

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