According to Greek law every Sunday of the year is a public holiday. In addition, there are nine mandatory, official public holidays: New Year's Day, 6 January, Clean Monday, 25 March,Orthodox Good Friday, Orthodox Easter Monday, 1 May, Orthodox Whit Monday, 15 August, 28 October, 25 December and 26 December.[1] There are, however, more public holidays celebrated in Greece than are announced by the Ministry of Labour each year as mandatory. The list of these non-fixed National Holidays rarely changes and has not changed in recent decades, giving a total of twelve National Holidays each year.
A public holiday that occurs on a Sunday is not transferred to another date, with the exception of 1 May, which is regarded by the locals more as a general strike than a public holiday.
In addition to the national holidays, some public holidays that are not celebrated nationwide, but only by a specific professional group or a local community. For example, many municipalities have a patron Saint also called 'Name Day' or a Liberation Day, and at this day it is customary for schools to have a day off.
The religious meaning of the holiday is a coming together to glorify the Theotokos, but in general and in effect the day is considered a holiday because it's the day after Christmas just like Boxing Day in some Commonwealth countries.
Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.
A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. Public holidays are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often also observed as public holidays in religious majority countries. Some religious holidays, such as Christmas, have become secularised by part or all of those who observe them. In addition to secularisation, many holidays have become commercialised due to the growth of industry.
A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year.
Public holidays in Australia refer to the holidays recognised in law in Australia. Although they are declared on a state and territory basis, they comprise a mixture of nationally celebrated days and holidays exclusive to the individual jurisdictions.
Easter Monday is the second day of Eastertide and a public holiday in some countries. In Western Christianity it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter; in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Bright Week.
In the United States, public holidays are set by federal, state, and local governments and are often observed by closing government offices or giving government employees paid time off. The federal government does not require private businesses to close or offer paid time off, as is the case for most state and local governments, so employers determine which holidays to observe.
Public holidays in New Zealand consist of a variety of cultural, national, and religious holidays that are legislated in New Zealand. Workers can get a maximum of 12 public holidays and a minimum of 20 annual leave days a year.
Public holidays in the Philippines are of two types: regular holidays and special non-working days.
Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. In the Catholic Church, it is the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, marking the resumption of Ordinary Time.
There are currently seven official public holidays on Mainland China. Each year's holidays are announced about one month before the start of the year by the General Office of the State Council. A notable feature of mainland Chinese holidays is that weekends are usually swapped with the weekdays next to the actual holiday to create a longer holiday period.
The following is the list of official public holidays recognized by the Government of Russia. On these days, government offices, embassies and some shops, are closed. If the date of observance falls on a weekend, the following Monday will be a day off in lieu of the holiday.
Epiphany, also known as "Theophany" in Eastern Christian tradition, is a Christian feast day commemorating the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at Cana.
The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Passages of Holy Scripture, saints and events for commemoration are associated with each date, as are many times special rules for fasting or feasting that correspond to the day of the week or time of year in relationship to the major feast days.
An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classes and do relevant exams and homework during this time, which comprises school days and school holidays. The duration of school days, holidays and school year varies across the world. The days in the school year depend on the state or country as In Maryland there are 180 days in a school year, but in Minnesota there are 165 days in the year.
Public holidays are celebrated by the entire population of Egypt. Holidays in Egypt have many classifications. Some holidays are religious and others are secular, while some can be fixed holidays on the calendar while others are movable. There are four Islamic holidays and two Christian holidays. The National Day of Egypt is celebrated on July, 23 which coincides with the annual celebration of the Egyptian revolution of 1952 when the modern republic of Egypt was declared, ending the period of the Kingdom of Egypt.
Public holidays in Botswana are largely controlled by government sector employers who are given paid time off. The government holiday schedule mainly benefits employees of government and government regulated businesses. At the discretion of the employer, other non-federal holidays such as Christmas Eve are common additions to the list of paid holidays.
The following are 11 public holidays in Ukraine.
A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage.
In Sweden, public holidays are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and non-Christian holidays. The Christian holidays are jul (Christmas), trettondedag jul (Epiphany), påsk (Easter), Kristi himmelsfärds dag, pingstdagen (Pentecost), and alla helgons dag. The non-Christian holidays are: nyårsdagen, första maj, Sveriges nationaldag, and midsommar (Midsummer). Midsummer is, however, officially also a Christian holiday to celebrate John the Baptist's birthday.
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