Holidays

The term holiday is derived from medieval Christian religious festivities that were collectively called “Holy Days.” General usage of the word has transcended from Christian days of religious observance to include other religions' and secular celebrations and individual vacations. International business operations can be significantly impacted by national or religious differences in the adherence of holidays.

[Page 819]Weekly days of rest known as the weekend are not called holidays any more. Yet, they are the original religious Holy Days. Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe that God rested on the seventh day after having worked for six days to create the heavens and the earth. To the Jews, this day is Saturday, the Shabbat. For most Christians it is Sunday, and for Muslims it is Friday, called El-Gumah or Gathering Day. Muslims celebrate it with noon prayers at the mosque but often consider Friday a workday—in Muhammad's time, it was the market day in Medina. Hebrew and Muslim days last from the previous evening's sunset to that day's sunset, while Christian days last from midnight to midnight. International travelers are well advised to check in advance which days are observed as weekend in a specific country or region.

Most religions structure their year around certain spiritual holidays, some of which are rooted in older pagan traditions: Christmas happens near the winter solstice, Easter and the Hebrew Pesach are connected to the spring equinox, and St. John's Day follows Midsummer. The Hebrew Sukkot and many Thanksgiving-related festivities surround the fall equinox.

The feast of Christmas is often seen as synonymous with the word holiday—the weeks leading up to it are commonly called the “holiday season.” Christmas traditions and dates vary internationally. Gift-giving, for example, traditionally happens on December 6 (Sinter Claas, St. Nicolas Day) in the Netherlands, but on December 24 (Christmas Eve) in other Protestant countries. Catholics celebrate on December 25, and the Orthodox on the Julian calendar's Epiphany (January 6), which currently translates to January 19 in the Gregorian calendar.

Many religious holidays do not have fixed dates. Islamic holidays, for example, are based on a lunar calendar and, in some countries, on actual sightings of the moon. Cloudy nights can delay important celebrations like Eid al Fitr, the last day of the lent month Ramadan. The dates for Chinese, Hebrew, and Hindu holidays as well as Christian holidays like Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost follow lunisolar rules that mix a lunar and a solar year. In consequence of this and the different calendars used, dates of movable holidays do not only differ between years but also internationally.

Originally public holidays coincided with religious festivities. Until the early 19th century, the Bank of England, for example, closed on selected saints' and anniversary days, making these days “bank holidays.” With the advent of nation-states, celebrating anniversaries of important historic events became part of the national folklore or self-conception. One example of such a secular public holiday is the 4th of July in the United States, honoring the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Other public holidays commemorate important persons: In Japan, the Emperor's Birthday is a public holiday. The current 125th tenno (emperor) was born Akihito Tsugonimaya on December 23, 1933.

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