Holidays around the world
The word 'holiday' itself has several meanings in English-speaking countries. On the one hand, a holiday means a trip or a journey during one's leave of absence in order to have rest and for educational purposes (for example in order to get to know new cultures, traditions and customs). On the other hand, a holiday is a leave of absence itself which is according to any law in any country is a sole right of any employed person. Everyone has the right to recreation, and it's been proven scientifically that the production efficiency in factories and enterprises increases after workers return from such vacations. Another meaning for the word "holiday" is a specific observance, official or unofficial, due to various traditions and customs peculiar to this or that country. Holidays are usually marked by various festivities and celebrations and have different reasons, for example cultural, national, religious, or having some other significance for a nation or a group of nations. There are hundreds and even thousands of holidays observed around the world. Their quantity is so large that even within one country, for example in Europe, several different occasions for celebration may occur every day. Of course, some of them are not significant, or have been forgotten by the majority of the population. Moreover, despite the common understanding of a holiday as an occasion for celebrations, some religious holidays have more sober nature (like fasting etc.). In such cases they are not connected with any festivities but nevertheless are remembered by the whole nation and special events and activities are held. The word 'holiday' itself is a contraction of two words, 'holy' and 'day', which means such days were originally connected with religious events with special rituals and ceremonies. Today it most often refers to the period of rest (whether day-long or longer) allowed by legislation on the occasion of some religious, national or other observance historically formed on a territory. On such days schools and offices are closed, the majority of workers have a day-off etc. An example of such holidays is the Labor Day in the USA. There may be different types of holidays within one country, for example religious (when the most important religious events are marked), national (usually based on the significance of some events in the history of a nation), secular (that are usually not market by extensive festivities or days-off) etc.