Thread: feria judicial

Originally Posted by exxcéntrica

Hola Diegonel, lo he visto como:

"Legal holiday" "Judicial vacation"

Y también la que has dicho: judicial recess

Hello Exx!!!

Long time, no see!!

We've already talked about it but I thought it might be interesting to some other members to further clarify what a holiday is in the U.S.

Holidays for us are days for celebrating or recognizing something in particular. The term "legal holiday" (in the U.S.) refers to a specific day recognized by the government. There are nine I think. Christmas Day and New Year's Day, Presidents Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July (Independence Day), Martin Luther King Day, Columbus Day. On those days all federal, state and local government offices and banks are closed as are most businesses except for the restaurants, bars, grocery stores, etc.

There are other days that we celebrate but are not "legal" in that the governmental offices and banks are not closed...like St. Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day, Halloween, etc. On these days there are celebrations but people still have to work.

We do not have multiple holidays...i.e., several days in a row like they do in Latin America, such as Semana Santa where practically everything is closed. The longest period of time that offices would be closed in the U.S. would be three days and that is when a legal holiday falls on a Friday or Monday.

Some workers get several days off around Christmas...called Christmas vacation...usually from Dec. 24th until Jan 2nd but it varies with the business they are in. Some people get nothing but Christmas Day off. Christmas Day is the only religious day that we celebrate and that is only because it is so traditional that even non-Christians celebrate it. Easter, of course, falls on Sunday and everybody is off anyway so it is not recognized as a legal holiday.

That pretty much sums up what holidays mean in the U.S.

Vacations on the other hand are days in which we do not work but they are not days of official celebration. They are simply recreational time; our time off to relax. The Brits go on holiday and we in the U.S. go on vacation. Vacation time can be as little as one day or as much as two or more weeks, depending on the generosity of one's employer.

I hope this helps our members understand the difference between the two terms here in the U.S.

Saludos.