holiday(from “holy day”), originally, a day of dedication to religious observance; in modern times, a day of either religious or secular commemoration. Many holidays of the major world religions tend to occur at the approximate dates of more ancient, pagan festivals. In the case of Christianity, this is sometimes owing to the policy of the early church of scheduling Christian observances at dates when they would eclipse pagan ones—a practice that proved more efficacious than merely prohibiting the earlier celebrations. In other cases, the similarity of the date is due to the tendency to celebrate turning points of the seasons, or to a combination of the two factors.

In many countries, secular holidays are based on commemoration of historic events and the birthdays of national heroes—eheroes—e.g., Independence Day in the United States and Bastille Day in France. Forms of observance of national holidays range from display of the national flag to exemption of public employees from work, the latter practice generally being followed also by business organizations. Traditionally, many holidays are celebrated by family reunions and the sending of greeting cards and gifts. In Great Britain, the so-called bank holidays are marked by the closing of banks and other institutions. See also feast.

Selected holidays and observances are provided in the table.