The word holiday comes from the

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. Public holidays are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often also observed as public holidays in religious majority countries. Some religious holidays such as Christmas have become or are becoming secularised by part or all of those who observe it. In addition to secularisation, many holidays have become commercialised due to the growth of industry.^[1]

Holidays can be thematic, celebrating or commemorating particular groups, events or ideas, or non-thematic, days of rest which do not have any particular meaning. In Commonwealth English, the term can refer to any period of rest from work, such as vacations or school holidays. In American English, the holidays typically refers to the period from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, which contains many important holidays in American culture.

Terminology[edit]

The word holiday comes from the Old English word hāligdæg (hālig «holy» + dæg «day»).^[2] The word originally referred only to special religious days.

The word holiday has differing connotations in different regions. In the United States the word is used exclusively to refer to the nationally, religiously or culturally observed day(s) of rest or celebration, or the events themselves, whereas in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations, the word may refer to the period of time where leave from one’s duties has been agreed, and is used as a synonym to the US preferred vacation. This time is usually set aside for rest, travel or the participation in recreational activities, with entire industries targeted to coincide or enhance these experiences. The days of leave may not coincide with any specific customs or laws. Employers and educational institutes may designate ‘holidays’ themselves which may or may not overlap nationally or culturally relevant dates, which again comes under this connotation, but it is the first implication detailed that this article is concerned with. The modern use varies geographically. In North America, it means any dedicated day or period of celebration. In the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, holiday is often used instead of the word vacation.

Global holidays[edit]

The celebration of the New Year has been a common holiday across cultures for at least four millennia.^[3] Such holidays normally celebrate the last day of a year and the arrival of the next year in a calendar system. In modern cultures using the Gregorian calendar, the New Year’s celebration spans New Year’s Eve on 31 December and New Year’s Day on 1 January. However, other calendar systems also have New Year’s celebration, such as Chinese New Year and Vietnamese Tet.^[4] New Year’s Day is the most common public holiday, observed by all countries using the Gregorian calendar except Israel.^[5]

Christmas is a popular holiday globally due to the spread of Christianity. The holiday is recognsied as a public holiday in many countries in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australasia and is celebrated by over 2 billion people.^[6] Although a holiday with religious origins, Christmas is often celebrated by non-Christians as a secular holiday. For example, 61% of Brits celebrate Christmas in an entirely secular way.^[7] Christmas has also become a tradition in some non-Christian countries. For example, for many Japanese people, it has become customary to buy and eat fried chicken on Christmas.^[8][9]

Recently invented holidays commemorate a range of modern social and political issues and other important topics. The United Nations publishes a list of International Days and Weeks. One such day is International Women’s Day on 8 March, which celebrates women’s achievements and campaigns for gender equality and women’s rights.^[10] Earth Day has been celebrated by people across the world since 1970, with 10,000 events in 2007. It is a holiday marking the dangers of environmental damage, such as pollution and the climate crisis.^[11]

Common secular holidays[edit]

Other secular holidays are observed regionally, nationally and across multi-country regions. The United Nations Calendar of Observances^[12] dedicates decades to a specific topic, but also a complete year, month, week and days. Holidays dedicated to an observance such as the commemoration of the ending of World War II, or the Shoah, can also be part of the reparation obligation as per UN General Assembly Resolution 60/147 Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law.^[13]

Another example of a major secular holiday is the Lunar New Year, which is celebrated across East Asia and South East Asia. Many other days are marked to celebrate events or people, but are not strictly holidays as time off work is rarely given; examples include Arbor Day (originally U.S.), Labor Day (celebrated sometimes under different names and on different days in different countries), and Earth Day (22 April).

Public holidays[edit]

Substitute holidays[edit]

If a holiday coincides with another holiday or a weekend day a substitute holiday may be recognised in lieu. In the United Kingdom the government website states that «If a bank holiday is on a weekend, a ‘substitute’ weekday becomes a bank holiday, normally the following Monday.», and the list of bank holidays for the year 2020 includes Monday 28 December as «Boxing Day (substitute day)», as 26 December is a Saturday.^[14] The process of moving a holiday from a weekend day to the following Monday is known as Mondayisation in New Zealand.^[15]

National days[edit]

National days are days of significance to a nation or nation state. National days are typically celebratory of a state’s independence (e.g. 4 July in the US), founding or unification (e.g. German Unity Day), the commemoration of a revolution (e.g. Bastille Day in France) or liberation (e.g. 9 May in the Channel Islands), or the feast day for a patron saint (e.g. St Patrick’s Day in Ireland) or ruler (e.g. 5 December in Thailand). Every country other than Denmark and the United Kingdom observes a national day.^[16] In the UK, constituent countries have official or unofficial national days associated with their patron saint. A British national day has often been proposed, such as the date of the Acts of Union 1707 (1 May) or the King’s Official Birthday, but never adopted.^[17]

Other days of national importance exist, such as one to celebrate the country’s military or veterans. For example, Armistice Day (11 November) is recognised in World War I Allied nations (and across the Commonwealth) to memoralise those lost in the World Wars. National leaders will typically attend remembrance ceremonies at national memorial sites.

Religious holidays[edit]

Many holidays are linked to faiths and religions (see etymology above). Christian holidays are defined as part of the liturgical year, the chief ones being Easter and Christmas. The Orthodox Christian and Western-Roman Catholic patronal feast day or «name day» are celebrated in each place’s patron saint’s day, according to the Calendar of saints. Jehovah’s Witnesses annually commemorate «The Memorial of Jesus Christ’s Death», but do not celebrate other holidays with any religious significance such as Easter, Christmas or New Year. This holds especially true for those holidays that have combined and absorbed rituals, overtones or practices from non-Christian beliefs into the celebration, as well as those holidays that distract from or replace the worship of Jehovah.^[18] In Islam, the largest holidays are Eid al-Fitr (immediately after Ramadan) and Eid al-Adha (at the end of the Hajj). Ahmadi Muslims additionally celebrate Promised Messiah Day, Promised Reformer Day, and Khilafat Day, but contrary to popular belief, neither are regarded as holidays. Hindus, Jains and Sikhs observe several holidays, one of the largest being Diwali (Festival of Light). Japanese holidays as well as few Catholic holidays contain heavy references to several different faiths and beliefs. Celtic, Norse, and Neopagan holidays follow the order of the Wheel of the Year. For example, Christmas ideas like decorating trees and colors (green, red, and white) have very similar ideas to modern Wicca (a modern Pagan belief) Yule which is a lesser Sabbat of the wheel of the year. Some are closely linked to Swedish festivities. The Baháʼí Faith observes 11 annual holidays on dates determined using the Baháʼí calendar. Jews have two holiday seasons: the Spring Feasts of Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Weeks, called Pentecost in Greek); and the Fall Feasts of Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Sukkot (Tabernacles), and Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day of Assembly).

Secularisation[edit]

Some religious holidays are also celebrated by many as secular holidays. For example, 61% of Brits celebrate Christmas in an entirely secular way.^[7] 81% of non-Christian Americans also celebrate Christmas. A 2019 Gallup poll found that two-thirds of Americans still celebrate an at least somewhat religious Christmas.^[19]

The claimed over-secularisation of particular holidays has caused controversy and claims of censorship of religion or political correctness. For example, in the 1990s, Birmingham City Council promoted a series of events in the Christmas season under the brand Winterval to create a more multi-cultural atmosphere about the seasonal festivities. The Bishop of Birmingham responded to the events, saying «the secular world, which expresses respect for all, is actually embarrassed by faith. Or perhaps it is Christianity which is censored».^[20] In the United States, conservative commentators have characterised the secularisation of Winter festivities as «the War on Christmas».^[21]

Unofficial holidays[edit]

These are holidays that are not traditionally marked on calendars. These holidays are celebrated by various groups and individuals. Some promote a cause, others recognize historical events not officially recognized, and others are «funny» holidays celebrated with humorous intent. For example, Monkey Day is celebrated on December 14, International Talk Like a Pirate Day is observed on September 19, and Blasphemy Day is held on September 30. Other examples are April Fools’ Day on April 1 and World No Tobacco Day on May 31. Various community organizers and marketers promote odd social media holidays.

Commercialism[edit]

In the United States, holidays have been drawn into a culture of consumption since the late 19th century. Many civic, religious and folk festivals have been commercialised. As such, traditions have been reshaped to serve the needs of industry. Leigh Eric Schmidt argues that the growth of consumption culture allowed the growth of holidays as an opportunity for increased public consumption and the orderly timing of it. Thus, after the Civil War, as department stores became the spatial expression of commercialism, holidays became the temporal expression of it.^[1]

See also[edit]

• Christmas and holiday season
• Holiday heart syndrome
• Public holiday
• List of holidays by country
• Commemoration (Anglicanism)
• Tribute

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Holidays at Curlie

The word
“holiday” comes from the _____ “holy days”. Holidays were
first religious festivals. Now many holidays have nothing to _____
with religion. Almost every country has holidays honoring important
____ or people in its history. Some holidays are ____ in many
countries. Some are observed in just one. Some are celebrated only in
one ____ of one country. Some are celebrated by the people of ____
one religion. For example, Halloween always comes on the ____ day of
the same month. Many other holidays do, too. But some do not. Easter,
for ____ , is a movable holiday. It is ____ on the first Sunday after
the first full moon after the beginning of spring. It can be as early
as in March and as ____ as in May. Every person has his own private
____ when he is given gifts by his family and friends. It is his ____
.

________________________________

late,
events, holiday, words, celebrated (2), birthday, part, only, same,
example, do

6.Match the names of the
holidays given in the box with their descriptions.

1.This day commemorates the
plot to blow up some government building.

2.It is the annual festival
commemorating the birth of the Savior and observed by Orthodox Church
on January, 7 and by other Christian churches on December, 25.

3.These are Pre-Lent spring
festivities usually accompanied by making and eating pancakes.

4.This holiday gives children
their chance to show their love and respect to their mothers.

5.On this day people send
special cards to somebody they love and also give them symbolic
gifts.

6.This holiday is the chief
Christian feast which celebrates the resurrection of Christ and is
held on the first Sunday after the first full moon in spring.

7.Speak on the following.

a)What holidays celebrated in
Britain are also marked in Ukraine? Do they have the same traditions
and rituals? Name at least three differences in celebrating Christmas
and Easter.

b)Which holiday in Great
Britain would you like to take part in? Why?

Reading Text a. Easter Sunday

1.Remember the following words
and word combinations.

capture завоювати

vernal весняний

equinox рівнодення

denomination віросповідання

Good
Friday страсна п’ятниця

ressurrect воскресати

settler поселенець

at
dawn на світанку

hunt пошуки,
шукати

bunny кролик

neighborhood околиця

multiple численний

seed джерело,
початок

dye фарбувати

pray молитися

mistreat погано
поводитися

tax податок

blow a
loud horn хвастати

showoff хвалько

praise похвала

2.Read and
translate the text. Why do a lot of people consider Easter Sunday to
be the light holiday?

The meaning of customs
observed during Easter Sunday lies in pre-Christian religions and
Christianity. All in some way or another are a “salute to spring”,
marking rebirth. The white Easter lily has come to capture the glory
of the holiday. The word “Easter” is named after Eostre, the
Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A festival was held in her honor every
year at the vernal equinox.

People celebrate the holiday
according to their beliefs and their religious denominations.
Christians commemorate Good Friday as the day that Jesus Christ died
and Easter Sunday as the day that he was resurrected, Protestant
settlers brought the custom of a sunrise service, a religious
gathering at dawn, to the United States.

Today on Easter Sunday,
children wake up to find that the Easter bunny has left them baskets
of candies. He has also hidden the eggs that they decorated earlier
that week. Children hunt for eggs all around the house. Neighborhoods
and organizations hold Easter egg hunts, and the child who finds the
most eggs wins a prize.

The Easter Bunny is a
rabbit-spirit. Long ago, he was called the “Easter Hare”. Hares
and rabbits have frequent multiple births, so they became a symbol of
fertility.

The custom of an Easter egg
hunt began because children believed that “All life comes from an
egg”. Christians consider eggs to be “the seed of life” and so
they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Why we dye, or colour, and
decorate eggs is not certain. In ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and
Persia eggs were dyed for spring festivals. In medieval Europe,
beatifully decorated eggs were given as gifts.

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This article is about days of observance. For a leave of absence or a trip, see Vacation. For leave from employment, see Annual leave. For other uses, see Holiday (disambiguation).

«Observance» redirects here. For other uses, see Observance (disambiguation).

A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observation is warranted. It is generally an official (more common) or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations or festivities.

Etymology

The word holiday derived from the notion of «Holy Day», and gradually evolved to its current form.

The word holiday comes from the Old English word hāligdæg. The word originally referred only to special religious days. In modern use, it means any special day of rest or relaxation, as opposed to normal days away from work or school…

Regional meaning

The usage of the word holiday varies in different parts of the English-speaking world.

Australia, Canada, UK

In Australia, Canada, and the UK, all usage of the word holiday means time away from normal employment or education. The meaning is further subdivided into two major sub-categories:

1. Public holiday, a day decreed by government as a day when the bulk of the population is not normally expected to be at work, such as Australia Day, Anzac Day, Bank Holiday or Christmas Day.
2. A non-working trip or stay away from one’s normal home. This is similar to what is described elsewhere as a vacation, but that word is rarely used in Australia or the UK. Canadians variously use either the term vacation or the word holiday.

Days referred to as holidays in other places but which do not involve formally decreed time away from work especially for that day, such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, are not described as holidays in Australia or the UK.

The UK also refers to School holidays (typically Christmas, Easter, and Summer) for the periods between School terms when children are not required to go to school, and Half-term holidays for the short break (usually one week) part-way through each School term.

United States

In the US, holiday may refer to a day set aside by a nation or culture (in some cases, multiple nations and cultures) for commemoration, celebration, or other observance. Schools and businesses often close for certain holidays. The term «holiday» is also commonly used as a direct euphemism for Christmas; businesses may announce, for example, that a product will be available «for Holiday 2011», meaning that it will be available in time for the Christmas shopping season.

India

In India holidays are days in which mainly schools or small firms get a free day because of some regional or religious reason. The term «Bank Holiday» in India is referred to as a day when the majority of the people get a leave due to national, international or major cultural reasons.

Types of holiday (observance)

Religious holidays

See also Category: Religious holidays.

Many holidays are linked to faiths and religions (see etymology above). Christian holidays are defined as part of the liturgical year. The Orthodox Christian and Western-Roman Catholic patronal feast day or ‘name day’ are celebrated in each place’s patron saint’s day, according to the Calendar of saints. In Islam, the largest holidays are Eid ul-Fitr (immediately after Ramadan) and Eid al-Adha (at the end of the Hajj). Hindus, Jains and Sikhs observe several holidays, one of the largest being Diwali (Festival of Light). Japanese holidays contain references to several different faiths and beliefs. Celtic, Norse, and Neopagan holidays follow the order of the Wheel of the Year. Some are closely linked to Swedish festivities. The Bahá’í Faith observes holidays as defined by the Bahá’í calendar. Jews have two holiday seasons: the Spring Feasts of Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Weeks, called Pentecost in Greek); and the Fall Feasts of Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Sukkot (Tabernacles), and Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day of Assembly).

Northern Hemisphere winter holidays

Winter in the Northern Hemisphere features many holidays that involve festivals and feasts. The Christmas and holiday season surrounds the winter solstice, Christmas and Holiday, and is celebrated by many religions and cultures. Usually, this period begins near the start of November and ends with New Year’s Day. Holiday season is, somewhat, a commercial term that applies, in the US, to the period that begins with Thanksgiving and ends with New Year’s Eve. Some Christian countries consider the end of the festive season to be after the feast of Epiphany.

National holidays

Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history. For example, Australians celebrate Australia Day.

Secular holidays

See also Category: Secular holidays.

Several secular holidays are observed, such as Earth Day or Labour Day, both internationally, and across multi-country regions, often in conjunction with organizations such as the United Nations. 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 promote a cause, others recognize historical events not officially recognized, and others are «funny» holidays celebrated with humorous intent. For example, Monkey Day celebrated on December 14, International Talk Like a Pirate Day observed on September 19 and Blasphemy Day is September 30.

Opposition

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate certain holidays, such as Christmas, Halloween, and Easter, because they believe these holidays are pagan.^[1]

See also

Holidays portal

• List of holidays by country
• Christmas controversy
• Holiday heart syndrome

Notes

References

• Susan E. Richardson (July 2001). Holidays & Holy Days: Origins, Customs, and Insights on Celebrations Through the Year. Vine Books. ISBN 0-8307-3442-2.
• Lucille Recht Penner and Ib Ohlsson (September 1993). Celebration: The Story of American Holidays. MacMillan Publishing Company. ISBN 0-02-770903-5.
• Barbara Klebanow and Sara Fischer (2005). American Holidays: Exploring Traditions, Customs, and Backgrounds. Pro Lingua Associates. ISBN 0-86647-196-0.

External links

• Holidays at the Open Directory Project
• National and Public Holiday of all Countries
• Holiday Stress Brings Anxiety and Abuse (ABC News)
• Listing of Canadian Federal and Provincial Public Holidays
• Calendar of all legal Public and Bank Holidays worldwide, until 2050
• Where Holiday Traditions Come From — slideshow by Life magazine

A men needs rest after hard work. Very often we are eagerly looking forward to weekends and holidays to enjoy ourselves.

The word “holiday” comes from the words “holy day”. Holidays were first religion festivals. Now many holidays have nothing to do with religion. Almost every country has holidays honouring important events in its history.

Some holidays come on the same date of the same month, for instance, New Year’s Day or Cristmas. But some do not. Some, such as Easter, are movable holidays.

New Year’s Day is very popular all over the world. It is my favourite holiday. We usually get together, we like celebrate this holiday at home.

We celebrate the first day of Cristmas on the 7th of January. On the 6th of January people tidy the whole house, cook much tasty food because the day after we must not work, we must have a rest. On this day we have a sacred supper. It begins when the first star lights up. As the legend says,

this star announced the birth of the God’s Son. We celebrate Christmas for two days. In the evening a group of boys comes. They sing songs. By these songs they congratulate on holiday, wish good crops, long life, no illness and so on. It is interesting to know that only boys must congratulate.

Women’s Day is on the 8th of March.

Then on the 1st of May goes next holiday the Day of Labor.

Another religious holiday is Easter. It is movable. It is usually the first Sunday after the first fullmoon after the begining of spring. In Russia we have special attributes of Easter: Easter eggs, and Easter “paska” that are baked according to the special recipe. It is a very nice spring holiday.

Victory Day is on the 9th of May. It is a sacred holiday for every Russian citizen. We are thankful to our grandfathers for the victory in the World War II.

Праздники в России (2)

Человеку нужно отдыхать после работы. Очень часто мы с нетерпением ждем выходных и праздников, чтобы как следует отдохнуть.

Слово “праздник” происходит от слов “священный день”.

Первые праздники были религиозными. Сегодня же многие праздники не имеют ничего общего с религией. Почти в каждой стране есть праздники, которые отмечают важные события в ее истории.

Некоторые праздники имеют фиксированную дату, например, Новый год или Рождество, другие нет. Некоторые, например, Пасха, – переходные праздники.

Новый Год очень популярен во всем мире. Это и мой любимый праздник. Мы обычно собираемся все вместе. Мы любим отмечать этот праздник дома.

Мы празднуем Рождество 7 января. 6 января убирают дом, готовят много вкусных блюд потому что на следующий день работать нельзя, следует отдыхать. В этот день – Святой вечер (Сочельник). Он начинается с первой звездой, ведь легенда гласит, что эта звезда означает рождение Сына Божьего. Мы празднуем Рождество два дня. Вечером мальчики приходят щедровать. Они поют песни. Этими песнями они всех поздравляют с праздником, желают хорошего урожая, долгой жизни, здоровья. Интересно, что щедровать могут только мальчики.

8-го марта мы празднуем Женский День.

Потом 1 мая идет следующий праздник – День Труда.

Другой религиозный праздник – Пасха. У этого праздника нет фиксированной даты, она меняется. В России есть специальные атрибуты Пасхи: пасхальные яйца и пасхальные куличи (“пасхи”). Пасха – очень хороший весенний праздник.

9 мая – День Победы. Это священный праздник для каждого российского гражданина. Мы благодарны нашим дедам за победу во второй мировой войне.