the holidays

1 definition found

the holidays - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Holiday \Hol"i*day\, n. [Holy + day.]
     1. A consecrated day; religious anniversary; a day set apart
        in honor of some person, or in commemoration of some
        event. See Holyday.
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     2. A day of exemption from labor; a day of amusement and
        gayety; a festival day.
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              And young and old come forth to play
              On a sunshine holiday.                --Milton.
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     3. (Law) A day fixed by law for suspension of business; a
        legal holiday.
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     Note: In the United States legal holidays, so called, are
           determined by law, commonly by the statutes of the
           several States. The holidays most generally observed
           are: the 22d day of February (Washington's birthday),
           the 30th day of May (Memorial day), the 4th day of July
           (Independence day), the 25th day of December (Christmas
           day). In most of the States the 1st day of January is a
           holiday. When any of these days falls on Sunday,
           usually the Monday following is observed as the
           holiday. In many of the States a day in the spring (as
           Good Friday, or the first Thursday in April), and a day
           in the fall (as the last Thursday in November) are now
           regularly appointed by Executive proclamation to be
           observed, the former as a day of fasting and prayer,
           the latter as a day of thanksgiving and are kept as
           holidays. In England, the days of the greater church
           feasts (designated in the calendar by a red letter, and
           commonly called red-letter days) are observed as
           general holidays. Bank holidays are those on which, by
           act of Parliament, banks may suspend business. Although
           Sunday is a holiday in the sense of a day when business
           is legally suspended, it is not usually included in the
           general term, the phrase "Sundays and holidays" being
           more common.
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     The holidays, any fixed or usual period for relaxation or
        festivity; especially, Christmas and New Year's day with
        the intervening time.
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