HOLIDAYS

What is a Holiday?

A holiday is a day or period meant for celebrating festivals or engaging in leisure activities. Public authorities establish these holidays, varying from state to state or region to region. Religious organizations also create religious holidays for their members, often observed as public holidays in countries with a religious majority. Some religious holidays, like Christmas, have become secularized by some or all of those who follow them. Apart from secularization, many holidays have become commercialized due to industry growth.

Holidays can be themed celebrations or simply days of rest from work, such as vacations or school breaks. The celebration of the New Year has been a traditional holiday across various cultures for at least four millennia. Typically, these holidays celebrate the last day of the year and the new year's arrival in a calendar system. Modern cultures using the Gregorian calendar celebrate New Year's Eve on December 31 and New Year's Day on January 1. However, other calendar systems have their own New Year's celebrations, such as the Chinese New Year and Vietnamese Tet. New Year's Day is the most common public holiday, observed by all countries using the Gregorian calendar except Israel.

Secular Versus Unixplorian

Christmas is a widely celebrated holiday worldwide due to its association with Christianity. It is recognized as a public holiday in numerous countries in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Australasia and is celebrated by over 2 billion people. Although Christmas has religious origins, it is also widely celebrated secularly by non-Christians. It has become a universal tradition in some non-Christian countries as well. For example, many Japanese people have adopted the custom of buying and eating fried chicken on Christmas.

In Unixploria, the celebrations and observances throughout the year strongly connect to the Christian faith. Christmas, in particular, is traditionally celebrated with themes and symbols associated with the religion. Although there are a few remnants of pagan festivals, such as Midsummer, most observances align with Christian traditions.