Questions tagged [public-holidays]

Questions regarding the politics or policies behind public or federal holidays.

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Why does Afghanistan use Solar Hijri calendar while they don't celebrate Nowruz as the new year day? [closed]

I was reading the Wikipedia article for Nowruz and the first map caught my eye: Iran is the only country that Nowruz is both a national holiday and the new year. Afghanistan on the other hand just ...
Snack Exchange's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
1k views

What happens when a Federal holiday falls on a weekend?

I thought the rules for holidays on a weekend would be similar to what's commonly observed in the private sector - take the weekday closest to the actual date. But when I went to Wikipedia to confirm,...
Mark Ransom's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
545 views

Did the King order that the day of the Queen's funeral should be a bank holiday?

So, Elizabeth II (the Queen) has died and Charles III is now the King. It was widely reported that the day of her funeral would be a quasi-national holiday "day of mourning" but that, ...
ScottishTapWater's user avatar
-5 votes
1 answer
456 views

Was it clear in advance that the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky would try to make the Jewish Rosh Hashanah a public holiday in Ukraine? [closed]

In 2020, Volodymyr Zelensky who became Ukrainian president in May 2019 made the Jewish Rosh Hashanah a Ukrainian public holiday (wrong, see the Update at the bottom!) - at least when believing the ...
ETathome's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Has a government of any region/country ever declared a holiday during any movie release?

A popular joke in India is that when the actor named Rajinikanth's movie is released, it becomes a holiday. While I am unsure if the government does declare a holiday but several companies did declare ...
Gary 2's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
237 views

Highest number of public holidays in country/region

According to a Wikipedia article, Nepal has the highest number of public holidays in the world. With 36 days a year, Nepal is the country with the highest number of public holidays but it observes ...
Gary 2's user avatar
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20 votes
5 answers
3k views

Has any country/region other than Malaysia declared public holidays for sporting wins?

Defending FT public holiday, minister says ‘greatly pressured’ by KL folks after Malaysia Cup win A region in Malaysia recently declared a public holiday after their team won the Malaysia Cup, which ...
Allure's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
2k views

Can the platinum jubilee bank holiday be cancelled?

The official list of UK bank holidays includes a 'Platinum Jubilee' holiday scheduled for 3 June 2022 to mark the start of Queen Elizabeth's 70th year on the throne. There is, naturally, some ...
avid's user avatar
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18 votes
7 answers
7k views

Has any European country recently scrapped a bank/public holiday?

I have tried to find whether any European country has recently (in the past 30 years or so) scrapped a national free day or similar. The closest I could get is the idea of replacing/moving a bank ...
Alexei's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
483 views

What happens to the emperor's birthday public holiday in Japan if the emperor dies?

There're a few countries in the world where an important person's birthday is a public holiday. For Example: The Emperor's birthday in Japan What happens if the Emperor dies shortly or a long time ...
Allure's user avatar
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15 votes
2 answers
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Why are UK Bank Holidays on Mondays?

Why are UK bank holidays always on a Monday except Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day? I ask, because this year, May Day Bank Holiday is next week on Monday when there is a Friday between 1st ...
Chris Rogers's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
323 views

Confused about Emancipation Day and Tax Day

Washington DC celebrates Emancipation Day on the weekday nearest April 16th. Wikipedia says: As the federal government observes the holiday, it causes the federal and all state tax deadlines to be ...
StrongBad's user avatar
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56 votes
6 answers
17k views

Why isn't Election Day a federal holiday in the US?

Inspired by this question The United States has low levels of voter turnout as compared to other developed democracies. As seen in the above question, low-income individuals are less likely to vote ...
Gramatik's user avatar
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18 votes
3 answers
10k views

Why do some countries forbid working on Sunday rather than strictly regulating it?

According to this source, Poland will gradually forbid commerce on Sundays: Poland’s ruling party approved a law that will gradually impose a ban on Sunday shopping, meeting the demand of its ...
Alexei's user avatar
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32 votes
9 answers
15k views

What is the purpose behind having public holidays in modern times?

As far as I understand, public holidays were originally a way of letting workers rest during the year, as well as celebrating major religious events. Nowadays workers are usually entitled to a few ...
JonathanReez's user avatar
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