A holiday is a regularly reoccurring festive day. Usually, but not always, the festive day is observed every year. The word "holiday" is derived from the words "holy" and "day."  In British English, the word "holiday" is used to refer to a Vacation as well as a public holiday.

Long holidays with no work 
 Spring Festival, May Day, and National Day (People's Republic of China)
 Golden Week (Japan)
 The Majówka, also called the Picnic (Poland) 
 Holy Week, sometimes with Easter, St. Patrick's Day, Easter Monday and Good Friday (Ireland) 
 A long weekend, when a holiday is next to the weekend (Australia and England). 
In the United States, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day are always on Monday to create a "long weekend" or "3-day weekend". 
Other holidays like America's Independence Day and Veterans' Day can come on a weekday or weekend.  If the holiday is on a weekend, it is moved to Friday or Monday to create a "3-day weekend." Calendars sometimes mark these holidays twice. For example, in 2006, Veterans' Day in America was on Saturday, November 11. "Veteran's Day (observed)" was also on the calendar; it was Friday, November 10.

Holidays in western countries during winter 
 New Year's Day
 Boxing Day (Wren day, St. Stephan's day)
 Kwanzaa
 Christmas Day
 Hanukkah
 Yule

Greetings 
 Merry Christmas (also called Feliz Navidad (Spanish) and Joyeux Noel (French))
 Merry Yuletide
 Happy Hanukkah
 Happy Kwanzaa
 Happy New Year
 Joyous Yule
 Happy Solstice
 Season's Greetings
 Happy Holiday(s)

Holidays celebrated around the world 
 New Year's Day (1 January)
 Valentine's Day (14 February)
 International Women's Day (8 March, mostly in Eastern European Countries)
 World Party Day (3 April)
 Earth Day (22 April)
 Labour Day, Worker's Day or May Day (1 May, most countries - United States and Canada celebrate Labour Day on the first Monday of September)
 Mother's Day (second Sunday in May in North America, fourth Sunday in Lent in UK)
 Father's Day (Different countries have different dates)
 Halloween (31 October)
 New Year's Eve (31 December)

Holidays celebrated in various countries

United States 
 Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, either January 15 or the third Monday in January
 Abraham Lincoln's birthday, either February 12 or the second Monday in February
 George Washington's birthday (or Presidents' Day), either February 22 or the third Monday in February
 Memorial Day, last Monday in May
 Independence Day, July 4
 Labor Day, first Monday in September
 Thanksgiving, fourth Thursday in November

Religious holidays

Buddhist holidays 
 Vesak
 Blessed Rainy Day in Bhutan

Celtic and Norse holidays 
In the order of the Wheel of the Year:
 Samhain (Celtic): 31 October-1 November, Celtic New Year, first day of winter
 Winternights (Norse): 29 October-2 November, Norse New Year
 Yule (Norse): 21 December-22 December, winter solstice, Celtic mid-winter
 Imbolc (Celtic): 1 February-2 February, Celtic first day of spring
 Ostara/Easter (Norse): 21 March-22 March, vernal equinox, Celtic mid-spring
 Beltane (Celtic): 30 April-1 May, Celtic first day of summer
 Litha (Norse): 21 June-22 June, summer solstice, Celtic mid-summer
 Lughnasadh (Celtic): 1 August-2 August, Celtic first day of autumn
 Mabon/Harvest End (Norse): 21 September-22 September, autumnal equinox

Hindu holidays 
 Baisakhi 
 Daserra
 Diwali
 Diwali Amvasaya (Laxmi Puja)
 Diwali (day 2)
 Bhaubeej
 Ekadasi
 Ganesh Chaturthi
 Gokul Ashtami
 Gudhi Padwa
 Holi
 Mahashivratri
 Makar Sankranti
 Onam
 Pongal
 Rama-Lilas
 Ram Navami
 Vaikunta Ekadasi
 Ugadi

Christian holidays 
 Advent
 All Saints' Day
 All Souls' Day
 Ascension Day (Jesus enters Heaven)
 Ash Wednesday
 Assumption of Mary (The Virgin Mary enters Heaven)
 Candlemas
 Childermas
 Christmas (Birth of Jesus)
 Corpus Christi(Sacrifice of Jesus)
 Easter (Jesus is born again)
 Easter Triduum
 Easter Vigil
 Good Friday (Death of Jesus)
 Holy Saturday
 Holy Thursday (The Last Supper)
 Epiphany
 Lent
 Pentecost or Whitsun (The Holy Spirit goes to the followers of Jesus)
 Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras (last day of Carnival)
 Winter Lent
 Watch Night

Catholics also celebrate saint's days.

Islamic holidays 
 Aashurah Muharram
 Eid (based on the lunar calendar)
 Eid ul-Fitr, Lesser Bairam
 Eid ul-Adha, Greater Bairam
 Mawlid Al Rasul - Prophet Muhammad's Birthday
 Nisfu Shaaban
 Nuzul Al Qur'an - First announcement of Holy Koran
 Ramadan-Ul-Mubarik
 Isra' Mi'raj - Prophet Muhammad's enters heaven.
 Youm Arafat - Day before Eid ul-Adha

Bahá'í holidays 
 Naw Ruz (Bahá'í New Year) 
 1st Day of Ridván
 9th Day of Ridvan 
 12th Day of Ridvan 
 Declaration of the Báb
 Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh
 Martyrdom of the Báb
 Birth of the Israel
 Birth of Bahá'u'lláh

Jewish holidays 

 Shabbat (Sabbath, observed weekly)
 Rosh Hodesh (first day of the Hebrew calendar month)
 Passover
 Lag Ba'omer
 Shavuot (Festival of Weeks; Harvest Festival)
 Tisha B'Av
 Rosh Hashanah (New Year)
 Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
 Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles)
 Hanukkah (also: Chanukah; the Festival of Lights)
 Tu Bishvat (New year of the trees)
 Purim (Deliverance from Evil)

References