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 and/or offices are closed such as Sunday.
In late 20th century, Saturday has become increasingly considered holiday as well as Sunday.
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".
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.
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 likehood 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.
Public Holiday
Consecutive holidays
Religious holidays
Jewish holidays
Main article: Jewish holidays
Christian holidays
See liturgical year for a detailed list.
Islamic/Muslim holidays
Hindu holidays
National holidays
Australia
Canada
See list at http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/jfa-ha/index_e.cfm
Cyprus
France
Germany
See Holidays in Germany.Italy
Japan
See Japanese Holidays.Mexico
The Netherlands
Puerto Rico
Mondays are public holidays for any public holiday that falls on a Sunday.
See also Holidays in Puerto Rico for a detailed list.
Singapore
Mondays are public holidays for any public holiday that falls on a Sunday.
South Africa
Sweden
See Holidays in Sweden.
United Kingdom
See Bank Holiday.
United States
Unlike countries where holidays are required by law, there are no national holidays in the United States. However, the United States Congress has created federal holidays for employees of the United States Government. While these are not legal holidays outside of the District of Columbia, most states have declared state holidays to coincide with these federal holidays. In spite of numerous attempts, the United States has never established true national holidays.
The holidays, and the days on which they are normally celebrated, are: