Holiday facts for kids

A holiday is a regularly reoccurring festive day. Usually, but not always, the festive day is observed every year. The word "holiday" is derived from the words "holy" and "day." In British English, the word "holiday" is used to refer to a Vacation as well as a public holiday.

Long holidays with no work

• Spring Festival, May Day, and National Day (People's Republic of China)
• Golden Week (Japan)
• The Majówka, also called the Picnic (Poland)
• Holy Week, sometimes with Easter, St. Patrick's Day, Easter Monday and Good Friday (Ireland)
• A long weekend, when a holiday is next to the weekend (Australia and England).

• In the United States, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day are always on Monday to create a "long weekend" or "3-day weekend".

Other holidays like America's Independence Day and Veterans' Day can come on a weekday or weekend. If the holiday is on a weekend, it is moved to Friday or Monday to create a "3-day weekend." Calendars sometimes mark these holidays twice. For example, in 2006, Veterans' Day in America was on Saturday, November 11. "Veteran's Day (observed)" was also on the calendar; it was Friday, November 10.

Holidays in western countries during winter

• New Year's Day
• Boxing Day (Wren day, St. Stephan's day)
• Kwanzaa
• Christmas Day
• Hanukkah
• Yule

Greetings

• Merry Christmas (also called Feliz Navidad (Spanish) and Joyeux Noel (French))
• Merry Yuletide
• Happy Hanukkah
• Happy Kwanzaa
• Happy New Year
• Joyous Yule
• Happy Solstice
• Season's Greetings
• Happy Holiday(s)

Holidays celebrated around the world

• New Year's Day (1 January)
• Valentine's Day (14 February)
• International Women's Day (8 March, mostly in Eastern European Countries)
• World Party Day (3 April)
• Earth Day (22 April)
• Labour Day, Worker's Day or May Day (1 May, most countries - United States and Canada celebrate Labour Day on the first Monday of September)
• Mother's Day (second Sunday in May in North America, fourth Sunday in Lent in UK)
• Father's Day (Different countries have different dates)
• Halloween (31 October)
• New Year's Eve (31 December)

Holidays celebrated in various countries

United States

• Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, either January 15 or the third Monday in January
• Abraham Lincoln's birthday, either February 12 or the second Monday in February
• George Washington's birthday (or Presidents' Day), either February 22 or the third Monday in February
• Memorial Day, last Monday in May
• Independence Day, July 4
• Labor Day, first Monday in September
• Thanksgiving, fourth Thursday in November

Religious holidays

Buddhist holidays

• Vesak
• Blessed Rainy Day in Bhutan

Celtic and Norse holidays

In the order of the Wheel of the Year:

• Samhain (Celtic): 31 October-1 November, Celtic New Year, first day of winter
• Winternights (Norse): 29 October-2 November, Norse New Year
• Yule (Norse): 21 December-22 December, winter solstice, Celtic mid-winter
• Imbolc (Celtic): 1 February-2 February, Celtic first day of spring
• Ostara/Easter (Norse): 21 March-22 March, vernal equinox, Celtic mid-spring
• Beltane (Celtic): 30 April-1 May, Celtic first day of summer
• Litha (Norse): 21 June-22 June, summer solstice, Celtic mid-summer
• Lughnasadh (Celtic): 1 August-2 August, Celtic first day of autumn
• Mabon/Harvest End (Norse): 21 September-22 September, autumnal equinox

Hindu holidays

• Baisakhi
• Daserra
• Diwali
  • Diwali Amvasaya (Laxmi Puja)
  • Diwali (day 2)
  • Bhaubeej
• Ekadasi
• Ganesh Chaturthi
• Gokul Ashtami
• Gudhi Padwa
• Holi
• Mahashivratri
• Makar Sankranti
• Onam
• Pongal
• Rama-Lilas
• Ram Navami
• Vaikunta Ekadasi
• Ugadi

Christian holidays

• Advent
• All Saints' Day
• All Souls' Day
• Ascension Day (Jesus enters Heaven)
• Ash Wednesday
• Assumption of Mary (The Virgin Mary enters Heaven)
• Candlemas
• Childermas
• Christmas (Birth of Jesus)
• Corpus Christi(Sacrifice of Jesus)
• Easter (Jesus is born again)
• Easter Triduum
  • Easter Vigil
  • Good Friday (Death of Jesus)
  • Holy Saturday
  • Holy Thursday (The Last Supper)
• Epiphany
• Lent
• Pentecost or Whitsun (The Holy Spirit goes to the followers of Jesus)
• Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras (last day of Carnival)
• Winter Lent
• Watch Night

Catholics also celebrate saint's days.

Islamic holidays

• Aashurah Muharram
• Eid (based on the lunar calendar)
  • Eid ul-Fitr, Lesser Bairam
    • Eid ul-Adha, Greater Bairam
• Mawlid Al Rasul - Prophet Muhammad's Birthday
• Nisfu Shaaban
• Nuzul Al Qur'an - First announcement of Holy Koran
• Ramadan-Ul-Mubarik
• Isra' Mi'raj - Prophet Muhammad's enters heaven.
• Youm Arafat - Day before Eid ul-Adha

Bahá'í holidays

• Naw Ruz (Bahá'í New Year)
• 1st Day of Ridván
• 9th Day of Ridvan
• 12th Day of Ridvan
• Declaration of the Báb
• Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh
• Martyrdom of the Báb
• Birth of the Israel
• Birth of Bahá'u'lláh

Jewish holidays

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• Shabbat (Sabbath, observed weekly)
• Rosh Hodesh (first day of the Hebrew calendar month)
• Passover
• Lag Ba'omer
• Shavuot (Festival of Weeks; Harvest Festival)
• Tisha B'Av
• Rosh Hashanah (New Year)
• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
• Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles)
• Hanukkah (also: Chanukah; the Festival of Lights)
• Tu Bishvat (New year of the trees)
• Purim (Deliverance from Evil)

See also

In Spanish: Día festivo para niños