Holiday meal ideas
This article is about days of observance. For holiday meal ideas leave of absence or a trip, see Vacation. For leave from employment, see Annual leave.
For the holidays, see Christmas and holiday season. 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. 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. The word originally referred only to special religious days.
The word holiday has differing connotations in different regions. The celebration of the New Year has been a common holiday across cultures for at least four millennia. Such holidays normally celebrate the last day of a year and the arrival of the next year in a calendar system. 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.
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. Other secular holidays are observed regionally, nationally and across multi-country regions. The United Nations Calendar of Observances dedicates decades to a specific topic, but also a complete year, month, week and days.
Another example of a major secular holiday is the Lunar New Year, which is celebrated across East Asia and South East Asia. 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. National days are days of significance to a nation or nation state. Other days of national importance exist, such as one to celebrate the country’s military or veterans.
National leaders will typically attend remembrance ceremonies at national memorial sites. Christian holidays are defined as part of the liturgical year, the chief ones being Easter and Christmas. Some religious holidays are also celebrated by many as secular holidays. Brits celebrate Christmas in an entirely secular way. A 2019 Gallup poll found that two-thirds of Americans still celebrate an at least somewhat religious Christmas. The claimed over-secularisation of particular holidays has caused controversy and claims of censorship of religion or political correctness. 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. 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. The Commercialization of the Calendar: American Holidays and the Culture of Consumption, 1870-1930″. Origin and meaning of holiday by Online Etymology Dictionary”.
