A holiday is an occasion set aside by government or customary law either for public celebration or for private enjoyment where normal daily activities, particularly work or school including church, are either suspended or completely reduced. In general, holidays are planned to let people to celebrate either on religious or cultural meaning or to commemorate an historical event or tradition. It can also be a period of general relaxation and amusement. It is not compulsory that you mark a holiday with proper preparations like booking of hotel, cooking of food, buying of necessary clothes/garment and gifts but it is always a nice gesture to your near and dear ones if you are able to make the best use of this time of joy and happiness.
What are Holidays? Every country has different definition of a holiday. For example in United States, holiday is defined as a “festive” day set apart for officially celebrating a holiday. This usually includes the granting of public documents like birth certificates, marriages and deaths. However, in United Kingdom, public holidays and festivals are not officially recognized which makes them termed as non-working days. Holiday in United Kingdom can also be called annual holiday.
Where to celebrate your public holiday in United States? Most of the states celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Day. However, there are a few states that celebrate a religious holiday, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. In some instances, United States federal holiday calendar does not mention the name of religious holiday but mention a place or location where you may celebrate the holiday. These holidays in most states are celebrated during two-day weekend with a short weekend during which public celebrations are scheduled.
Although in United States, the national holidays are set aside for special occasions and other reasons, still they have significant social and economic significance. The traditions and cultures spread through time are still very much alive and every American citizen is entitled to attend them. On the other hand, although international business has become extremely flourishing in almost all countries, still the United States has remained the dominant holiday country, perhaps due to the strong religious beliefs and cultural heritage.
Why is it important to observe national holidays in United States? Most of the workers feel patriotic and appreciate the government every time they get a paid holiday. They believe that the government is legitimate and its decisions must be obeyed. Moreover, most workers believe that if they do not observe the religious holidays then they will lose their jobs. Moreover, most of the local businesses consider the new year holidays as a good time to advertise and increase their sales.
Although there are many reasons that the United States government extends public holidays on different dates, yet the ultimate purpose is to improve the economical conditions of the country. For instance, most of the states in United States observes Saturday as a national holiday because of its closeness to Christmas. Thus, a better access to stores and shopping malls on that day will enhance the revenue of both shopping centres and consumers.