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

1. a day specified for religious observance