A holiday is a legal day set apart by law or custom, where public activities, particularly work or business including school, are either suspended or completely reduced. In most cases, holidays are meant to let people celebrate or remember an occasion or tradition of particular cultural or ethnic importance. Holidays are also important for families as it gives them a chance to spend quality time with each other and unwind from the pressures of everyday life. In fact, a holiday is the ideal time to bond with your loved ones as studies show that people who take time off from work and have holidays in their homes tend to spend more time with their family than those who do not.
Traditionally, most people spend their holidays in the US in the days leading up to Christmas. Christmas decorations are the most expensive holiday item for Americans and, as such, drive a strong market for these types of holiday items all year long. The days leading up to Christmas are often filled with family get-togethers and parties. This festive period inspires Americans to be more generous with their time and money as they give gifts to one another. People who stay in the United States or are part of the middle class typically send money to friends and family back home to spend during the holidays.
Federal holidays in the US include Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. All three of these holidays have become crucial symbols of national identity for Americans. For this reason, federal holidays have become lucrative sources of holiday pay for U.S. employees. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah holidays each come around late fall or early January, are making these months excellent times to find excellent holiday pay. Thanksgiving and Christmas are the only government holidays that require a federal holiday pay holiday for government employees; therefore, overtime rates for government employees are often very high at these dates.
However, even though government employees are required to take a holiday pay holiday, private employers are not. If you work for a private employer, chances are that you will receive a generous amount of overtime pay for your efforts. Owing to the fact that most private employers do not discriminate based on holidays, you are likely to be able to obtain a decent rate for holiday pay. The rate for holiday overtime pay is usually much higher than the rate for vacation pay, but not by too much.
There are some religious holidays that also require federal holiday pay. Christmas, for example, is made up of two separate days, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Because there are two separate days, federal law requires that employees must receive both of these days off. In addition, some religious holidays require federal holiday pay. These include Christmas and Valentine’s Day.
As with federal holidays, many private employers do not follow the same practices when it comes to paid holidays. Therefore, if you want to be able to take off from work on these days, your best bet is to contact your employer and see if they offer any federal holidays. You may also want to check out what your employer offers in terms of paid holidays for their part-time employees. Many private companies have policies that will allow part-time employees to take off on religious holidays as well.