In order to know the meaning of the term holiday, it is necessary, first of all, to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can state that it derives from Latin, exactly the result of the sum of two components of said language: the noun "fair", which can be translated as "holidays", and the suffix "-ado", which is used to indicate "that you have received the action."
The concept of holiday refers to what is linked to the fair , in the sense of interruption and rest from work . The term usually refers specifically to the day that is not a business day .
A holiday, also called a public holiday , is a day on which work and academic obligations are suspended . In other words: on a holiday there is no work and no classes. There are, however, numerous exceptions since many people have to work even on a holiday, receiving additional or extra payment for that.
It can be said that a holiday is a day that is not a business day . Typically, the only day of the week that is considered non-working is Sunday , although various activities are also interrupted on Saturdays . From Monday to Friday, however, daily obligations and responsibilities govern. However, when it is a holiday, activities are interrupted even if it is Monday , Tuesday , Wednesday , Thursday or Friday .
Holidays are usually established by laws or decrees . The authorities, when considering that a certain event should be commemorated or celebrated, set a date as a holiday to allow people to join in the commemoration, celebrate with their families, etc.
Christmas Day, to name one example, is a holiday in Catholic countries . On December 25 , in this way, no work is done and only essential public services operate.
Within the set of holidays, it should be noted that there are, in addition to those listed, those that are established locally in a city or town, such as municipal festivals in honor of their patrons. In the same way, there are holidays that refer to festivals of the autonomous communities. Thus, for example, February 28 is Andalusia Day and, therefore, it is a holiday for those who live and work in that territory while in the rest of Spain it is just another working day.
In the same way, we cannot ignore that, sometimes, it is established that when a holiday falls on a Saturday, the usual thing is to transfer that non-school day to the following Monday. Thus, what is achieved is that workers have a bridge that they can take advantage of to simply rest, to spend time with their family or even to take a getaway.
When a holiday is combined with a weekend, a long weekend is generated: the usual rest on Saturday and Sunday is added to the holiday on Friday or Monday, leaving three consecutive non-working days.
In addition, most days of what is known as Holy Week are also holidays, which is the week that comes to commemorate the life and death of Jesus Christ.