holy day
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: A day that is set aside for religious observance, worship, or commemoration. It is a day considered sacred within a particular religion.
Usage
A "holy day" is a specific date or period designated by a religious tradition for special spiritual activities, which may include prayer, fasting, feasting, or rest from work. It is important to distinguish it from the similar-sounding term "holiday," which, while often derived from holy days, has a broader secular meaning of a general day of celebration or time off.
Examples
- Many businesses close on major holy days such as Christmas and Easter.
- Observant Jews refrain from work on the weekly holy day, the Sabbath.
- Ramadan includes numerous holy days of particular significance within the Islamic calendar.
Advanced Usage
- "High holy day": This phrase often refers to the most sacred and solemn days in a religious calendar, such as Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) in Judaism.
- The synagogue was full for the high holy day services.
Variants and Related Words
- Holiday (n): In modern usage, a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done. This term evolved from "holy day" but now has a much wider, often secular, application (e.g., national holidays, vacation).
- Feast day (n): A holy day dedicated to a particular saint or event, often marked by celebratory meals.
- Fast day (n): A holy day marked by abstinence from food or certain foods, observed in religions like Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
Synonyms
- Religious festival
- Sacred day
- Feast day (when celebratory)
- Fast day (when penitential)
Related Idioms
- "A moveable feast": This idiom, originating from Christianity, refers to a holy day whose date changes each year relative to the solar calendar (e.g., Easter). It is now used more generally to describe any event with a variable date.
- Thanksgiving in the U.S. is a moveable feast, always falling on the fourth Thursday of November.
Noun
- a day specified for religious observance