The very first problem arises with the word holiday itself. It has several meanings with different grammar. What is more, Americans more often use the word vacation in some meanings. Both words are used in both British and American English, but often differently.
Firstly, a holiday/vacation is a period of time away from home for pleasure and relaxation. It is a countable noun (so the indefinite article is used) in expressions such as to take/have a holiday/vacation, but an uncountable noun (no article is used) in expressions such as to be/go on holiday/vacation. We can easily specify the type of holiday/vacation: a skiing/camping/foreign/family/two-week holiday/vacation, etc. I once asked my students to make up a story of a disastrous holiday. Some of them wrote about the whole of their summer holidays, which meant that they, in fact, didn’t complete the task. Mea culpa, I should have explained it to them more carefully (read further on).
Secondly, holiday/vacation is a period of time when you are not at work or school (but not necessarily away from home). In British English, the plural holidays is used for the school holidays (in American English, the singular vacation is more common; plus the definite article is used for both): the summer/Christmas/Easter holidays/vacation. In other cases, the British normally use the singular holiday: We get five days’ Christmas holiday this year (said by a worker).
Thirdly, a holiday is a day when most offices, businesses and schools are closed, because of a religious or national celebration, so most people don’t go to work or school. It is usually called a public holiday in the USA and a bank holiday in the UK. (A certain English-Slovak dictionary translates a bank holiday as bankové prázdniny and another one as bankový sviatok – quite strange equivalents, aren’t they?) We can also use the word festival for a day or period of the year when people don’t go to work or school and celebrate a special event, often a religious one.
Fourthly, the holidays is used in American English to refer to the time in late December and early January that includes Christmas, Hanukkah (an eight-day Jewish festival) and the New Year.
Fifthly, vacation is used in British English to mean one of the periods when universities or courts of laws are officially closed. British students often use the short name vac for a university vacation or the phrase the long vacation for the summer vacation.
Lastly, some of you might not know that we can use both nouns, holiday and vacation, as a verb, e.g. as in the following sentence: John was holidaying/vacationing with his girlfriend in Greece.
Now, let’s have a closer look at the two most important holidays. First, Eastertime. Let’s compare the names of important days used by native speakers of English with incorrect word-for-word translations of our expressions. The Sunday before Easter is called Palm Sunday, not Flower Sunday; the Thursday before Easter is called Maundy Thursday, not Green Thursday; the Friday before Easter is called Good Friday, not Great Friday; and the Saturday before Easter is called Holy/Easter Saturday, not White Saturday. The Sunday when Christians remember Jesus Christ’s return to life, the Resurrection, is simply called Easter Day/Sunday.
What about Christmastime? December 24 is called Christmas Eve, not Generous Evening; December 25 is called Christmas Day, not First Christmas Holiday; December 26 (or 27 December – if 26 December falls on a Sunday) is called Boxing Day, not Second Christmas Holiday. December 31 is called New Year’s Eve, not Silvester, and January 1 is simply New Year’s Day. January 6 is called Epiphany, not Three Kings or the Apparition of the Lord.
The first day of May, which is celebrated in some countries as a holiday in honour of working people, is called May Day, not the Day of Work. In the USA and Canada, such a public holiday is called Labor Day, but it is celebrated on a different date – on the first Monday of September.
Not all of our public holidays are celebrated in English-speaking countries, so we have to make our own translations. Here are some examples: the Day of the Victory over Fascism (8 May), the Holy Day of Sts. Cyril and Methodius (5 July), the Day of Remembrance of the Slovak National Uprising (29 August), the Day of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic (1 September), the Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy (17 November).
At last! A tough piece of writing – these holidays, vacations, festivals, or whatever else they are called. Anyway, enjoy the summer holidays!
