Since it’s Thanksgiving in the US right now and Sinterklaas in my country next week on december 5th, I started to wonder what kind of celebrations and national days various countries have next to the more global ones like Christmas, Easter, New Year etc.
In The Netherlands we have:
April 27: King’s Day (we got a king this year so this year we got the last Queens day on April 30)
May 5: Liberation Day
Ascension Day
Pentecost
Dec 5: Sinterklaas
Next to that we have ‘unofficial’ ones:
May 4: remembrance day
Good Friday (friday before easter) Carnaval (in the southern part)
We celebrate christmas and easter for 2 days, it seems not every country does that? We also have things like father’s day, mother’s day etc.
Here in New Zealand, we have:
1 & 2 Jan : New Year’s day and 2nd day of New Year.
6 Feb : Waitangi Day.
Good Friday, Easter Day and Easter Monday.
1st Monday of June : Queen’s Birthday (Queen of England).
4th Monday of October : Labour Day
Christmas Day.
26 Dec : Boxing Day.
We also celebrate the city’s anniversary. I live in Auckland, so the anniversary is on the 29th of January. But the government always use the closest Monday instead (so we can have day off!).
And only those in Auckland will have the Monday off. The rest of the country will not. So when a city celebrate its anniversary, only people who live in that city will have the day off, not the whole country.
You’re lucky you still celebrate Ascension Day. Here in NZ, we have to celebrate it on Sunday instead because it’s not recognised by the government here…
We celebrate Mother’s Day (2nd Sunday of May) and Father’s Day (1st Sunday of September) too but it’s not public holiday.
In the US if you get one of the calendars they sell You will just be with “Eyes Wide Open”. Almost everyday they have an excuse for a holiday.
I celebrate 5 days
Our Eids. ( islamic holidays)
New years January 1st
My two kids bdays.
the rest are not important to me.
religious holidays: Orthodox Easter [which is usually a week after the Catholic one, but it has happened to overlap], Christmas and on the 15th of August - The Dormition of The Mother of God [many of you might know it as The Assumption] with days off from work, and other saints which aren’t given days off from work.
Precisely tomorrow, 30th of November, we have our nation’s patron saint - Andrew The Apostle. It would have been a day off from work, but this year it’s a Saturday
Other holidays [with days off from work]: 1st of May - Labour Day; 1st of June - Children’s Day, 1st of December - National Day of Romania; 1st and 2nd of January - New Year Holiday
Not that many, huh?! I always thought we had a lot of them, but now that I put them in a list, they aren’t that many…
Romanian public holidays for 2013, with days offs works:
January 1- New Year’s Day (laic holiday)
January 2 - day off work. Well, we have to recover after party smile
May 1 - Labour Day (laic holiday) May 2, May 3 ( in 2013 were days offs offered to tie labor day with Easter holiday and have a longer vacation)
May 5 - first day of Easter (religious holiday)
May 6 - second day of Easter (religious holiday )
June 23 - first day of Pentecost (religious holiday )
June 24- second day of Pentecost (religious holiday )
August 15- the Assumption (religious holiday )
November 30- St. Andrew, the Apostole, patron fo Romania (early Christianity in Romanian land was spread by him) religious holiday
December 1- Romania’s National Day (laic holiday)
December 25- first day of Christmas (religious holiday )
December 26- second day of Christmas (religious holiday ) December 27- (only this year, to tie Christmas holiday with New Year holidays)
This year we celebrated Easter on May 5, because we are Christian Orthodox, so we used the Julian Calendar, while the Catholics use the Gregorian calendar.
The correct name for “Adormirea Maicii Domnului” as an official holiday is “The Dormition of The Mother of God”, since “The Assumption” is Romano-Catholic.
It’s a slight difference in terms: Dormition - going to sleep, dying Assumption - rise to the Heavens
So, we can say that in our case it’s a sadder holiday. It’s like a remembrance [remember the dead], while the other would be a commemoration [celebrating his/her life].
No offense to other religions, it’s just the translator in me that had to point that difference ^^
Most of the holidays we have in Republic of Moldova are the same as in Romania due to our common heritage (same origin, same language, same customs etc.)
Public holidays in the Republic of Moldova are:
1st of January- New Year’s Day
7th of January and 8th of January - Christmas ,according to old Julian calendar
25th of December , Christmas - according to revised Julian calendar
24th of February , Day of Love (Dragobete)
Ever since ancient time Romanians used to celebrate Dragobete on the 24th of February. Dragobete is a handsome man who likes to indulge himself in love affairs, tempestuous like the Dacian god who was thought to celebrate in heaven the marriage of all the animals. The holiday is similar to St. Valentine.
1st March- Martisor: another ancient Romanian celebration at the beginning of spring, who goes back to our ancestors (Dacians and the Romans), in the Pre- christian times.It’s usually said that it originated in ancient Rome, because New Year’s Eve was celebrated on the 1st of March (Martius), the month of the war god Mars.He had a double role: both protector of agriculture and of war, so the celebration signified the rebirth of nature. In this day men offer women a small decorative object also called Mărţişor consisting of a jewel or symbolizing a flower, an animal, etc. tied to a red and white string. This is a symbol of the coming spring, which the woman wears pinned to her blouse on this day, and up to two weeks after.
you are right. In the Eastern tradition we commemorate the Dormition of Theotokos, while in the Western tradition they celebrate the feast of the Assumption.
Maica Domnului is more Mother of the Lord. “Mother of God” is used as an imprecise translation of Theotokos, who specifically excludes the understanding of Mary as “Mother of God” in the eternal sense, but mother of Jesus, the Incarnate word of God.
as an asian i was born and raised in austria. so the holiday days we have also affects work, since you get those days off. now that i work in switzerland i learned to appreciate the public holidays even more, because switzerland has - if compared to austria - practically none (or at least it feels that way to me…). brace yourselves… we have:
January - 01 New Year’s Day
January - 06 Epiphany
March - 31 Easter Sunday
April - 01 Easter Monday
May - 01 Labor Day
May - 09 Ascension Day
May - 19 Whit Sunday
May - 20 Whit Monday
May - 30 Corpus Christi
August - 15 Assumption of Mary
October - 26 National day
November - 01 All Saints’ Day
December - 08 Immaculate Conception
December - 25 Christmas
December - 26 St. Stephen’s Day
You all get a day of at Labor Day? Here in The Netherlands we have it too but it isn’t a day off. Like we also have things like “Day for the construction workers” etc… also not a day of and those days are mostly just for awareness for some kind of job.
Absolutely nothing!
It’s the 2nd day of Christmas so there is a history about why there is a day called Boxing Day.
But nowadays in NZ, it means huge huge HUGE sale at shops so people would go crazy shopping stuff they don’t actually need ha…ha…
Ah US, Holidays! We are so fortunate to have so many with the many religions and customs. We are fortunate to have so many. We don’t get off for all of them, but you will often hear them mentioned in the news. These are just a few:
New Year’s Day National holiday
Epiphany Christian
Orthodox Christmas Day Orthodox
Memorial Day Observance
Martin Luther King Day National holiday
National Wear Red Day (Against Drugs) Observance
National Freedom Day Observance
Groundhog Day Observance
Rosa Parks Day State holiday California, Ohio
Chinese New Year Observance
Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras Observance
Lincoln’s Birthday
Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras State holiday Alabama, Louisiana
Ash Wednesday Christian
Valentine’s Day Observance
Susan B Anthony’s Birthday State holiday Florida
Presidents’ Day (Washington’s Birthday) National holiday
Read Across America Day Observance
Day State holiday Texas
St. Patrick’s Day Observance
State holiday Massachusetts
March equinox Season
Palm Sunday Christian
Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day State holiday Hawaii
Passover (first day) Jewish holiday
Good Friday State holiday
Holy Saturday Christian
Easter Sunday Observance, Christian
Easter Monday Christian
César Chávez Day observed State holiday California
Last Day of Passover Jewish holiday
Monday Apr 15 Tax Day Observance
Father Damien Day Local observance Hawaii
Administrative Professionals Day Observance
Arbor Day State
Orthodox Good Friday Orthodox
Cinco de Mayo Observance
Orthodox Easter Orthodox
National Nurses Day Observance
Orthodox Easter Monday Orthodox Ascension Day Christian
Mothers’ Day Observance
Peace Officers Memorial Day Observance
Stonewall
Summer Soltice
Shavuot Jewish holiday
Armed Forces Day Observance
Harvey Milk Day Observance California
Memorial Day National holiday
D-Day Observance
Flag Day Observance
Fathers’ Day Observance
Jul 4 Independence Day National holiday
Ramadan Muslim
Tisha B’Av Jewish holiday
Parents’ Day Observance
Lailat al-Qadr Muslim
Eid al-Fitr Muslim
Assumption of Mary
Senior Citizens Day Observance
Labor Day National holiday
Rosh Hashana Jewish
National Grandparents
Patriot Day Observance
Yom Kippur Jewish holiday
September equinox Season
Shmini Atzeret Jewish
Indigenous People’s Day State holiday California
Columbus Day National
Eid al-Adha Muslim
White Cane Safety Day Observance
Boss’s Day Observance
Halloween Observance
All Saints’ Day Christian
ll Souls’ Day Christian
Diwali/Deepavali Observance
Muharram Muslim
Veterans Day National holiday
Thanksgiving Day National holiday
American Indian
Chanukah Jewish holiday
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Observance
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
December/Winter Solstice
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
Miyavi - Thanx Givin’ Day Thank you, Mother For always making me warm meals I really, I really. I really appreciate you. But Mother, When I ocassionally don’t finish eating my meals and there are leftovers, don’t be upset, ok?
I’m sorry, Father For always doing my own selfish things And for getting into trouble, and causing you heartache and pain But Father, When I grow up I’m gonna be like you, oh Father, one day you’ll see
And so… “Thanks for Everything!” We do know that you always up working late, doing your best, we do know. till the wee hours of night But Father, and Mother, it’s ok to take a rest sometimes Just always be fine More than anything else, the two of you should be good friends Thanx givin’ day
