The term holy day refers only to the religious aspect of the celebration. Although most nations include holy days in their holiday calendar, in countries where religion is practiced privately only secular holidays are reserved for national celebrations.
Holiday is any day on which people lay aside their ordinary duties and cares.
The word comes from the Anglo-Saxon halig daeg , or holy day . At first, holidays honored some sacred event or holy person. The United States is a nation of many religious and ethnic groups. Many of these have feast days, holy days or special customs related to their religion or to their nation of origin. People of the Jewish faith, i.e., observe all of their traditional holy days, with employers showing consideration by allowing them to take days off so they can observe their traditions.