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.
- 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:
Islamic/Muslim holidays
National holidays:
- United States
- New Years Day (January 1)
- Martin Luther King Day (third Monday in January)
- President's Day (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 (fourth Thursday in November)
- Mexico
- Cinco de Mayo (May 5)
- Diez y Seis de Septiembre (September 16), Mexican independence day
- 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)
Other holidays:
- Boxing day (December 26)
- Halloween (October 31)
- New Year's Day - January 1
- Valentine's Day February 14
- Worker's Day or May Day (most countries - United States and Canada are prominent exceptions)
External Links:
- Bizarre American Holidays -- a comprehensive compilation of special recognition given both to months and individual days. Unfortunately, the origins of the commemorations aren't provided.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, 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.
BTW, we need to add all those national holiday articles, recently added to Wikipedia, to this page.