Public holiday : Legal holiday

A public holiday or legal holiday is a holiday endorsed by the state. Public holidays can be either religious, in which case they reflect the dominant religion in a country, or secular, in which case they are usually political or historical in character.

Public holidays in various countries:

Religious holidays (alphabetical by religion, then name):

• Christian holidays
  • Christmas: December 25
  • Easter: date determined by a complex formula
  • ( see liturgical year for more )
• Jewish holidays
  • Rosh Hashanah
  • Passover (Pesach)
  • Yom Kippur
  • ( see Jewish holidays for more )
  • and lots more, I think...
• Muslim holidays
  • Eid: Eid ul-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha[?]: date determined by the lunar calendar and observation of the moon

Secular holidays (alphabetical by name, then by country):

• Bank holidays
• Labor Day
  • United States of America: first Monday in September
• Independence Day
  • United States of America: July 4
• May Day
  • Most countries: May 1
• National holidays
• New Years Day

Please add more holidays and festivals into this scheme...

External links:

• UK public holidays (http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/bankhol.htm)

• Canadian public holidays (http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB/es/holidaye.htm)
• Australian public holidays (http://www.oztourism.com.au/ozhols.htm)
• Google category: Holidays -- Calendars and Lists (http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Holidays/Calendars_and_Lists/)