Holidays are an integral part of any nation's calendar, so it's really important to be very familiar with which dates are going to be probably called off as far as work and school schedules are concerned. This article collates the various dates of great importance in several countries throughout the world. National holidays celebrate significant moments in a nation's history as well as giving those in the country a chance to remember important people and events. They may also be a reflection of a country's philosophy and religious leanings.
United States (dates are for the calendar year 2009)
- January 1 New Year's Day
- January 19 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- February 16 Presidents Day
- February 25 Ash Wednesday
- April 5 Palm Sunday
- April 9 First day of Passover
- April 10 Good Friday
- April 12 Easter Sunday
- April 16 Last Day of Passover
- May 5 Cinco De Mayo
- May 25 Memorial Day
- May 31 Pentecost Sunday
- June 14 Flag Day
- July 4 Independence Day
- August 22 First day of Ramadan
- September 7 Labor Day
- September 19 Rosh Hashanah
- September 20 Last day of Ramadan
- September 21 Eid-al-Fitr
- September 28 Yom Kippur
- October 12 Columbus Day
- October 31 Halloween
- November 1 All Saints Day
- November 11 Veterans Day
- November 26 Thanksgiving
- November 27 Black Friday
- December 7 Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
- December 12 First day of Hanukkah
- December 19 Last day of Hanukkah
- December 21 Winter Solstice
- December 24 Christmas Eve
- December 25 Christmas Day
- December 26 First day of Kwanzaa
- December 31 New Year's Eve
United Kingdom (dates are for 2009)
- January 1 - New Year's Day
- March 17 - St Patrick's Day
- April 10 - Good Friday
- April 12 -Easter Sunday
- May 9 - Liberation Day
- July 5 - Tynwald Day
- July 12 - Battle of the Boyne
- December 25 - Christmas Day
- December 26 - Boxing Day
Canada (dates are for the year 2009)
- January 1 - New Year's Day
- Third Monday in February - Family Day
- April 10 - Good Friday
- April 13 - Easter Monday - schools, banks, and government
- First Monday on or before May 24 - Victoria Day
- June 24 - Fête Nationale du Québec
- July 1 - Canada Day
- First Monday in September - Labour Day
- Second Monday in October - Thanksgiving Day
- November 11 - Remembrance Day
- December 24 - Christmas Eve
- December 25 - Christmas Day
- December 26 - Boxing Day
For an easy online reference, you can check out Google Calendar, which lets you import third-party calendars to your own account. With this interface, you are given a list of countries with their respective holidays, and you can save these for viewing on your own Google Calendar account.
There are many holidays to remember, so make sure that you keep these dates marked on your calendar or in your organizer. Businesses, banks and schools are usually closed for holidays, so you may have to change your schedules should your appointments fall on dates that are legislated to be non-working holidays. Rather than letting these dates cause you inconvenience, take a load off and enjoy the idle time with your family or by doing something that you truly enjoy.
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