# Vacation or Holiday?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 25, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-or-holiday/164011 "2003-03-25T13:33:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![merge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@merge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merge)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-or-holiday/164011/1 "2003-03-25T13:33:03Z")
While I was in the Virgin Islands last week… I was talking to some guy from Australia… he asked me why I was there… I told him I was on Vacation… he then responded… “no… not vacation… you are on Holiday” but the H was silent… so I said again… No… I am on Vacation…and he seemed to get pissed off… (he was drunk) and told me again that I was on Holiday… So 2 questions really… 1. What was that all about? and 2. Why was he getting pissed off? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-or-holiday/164011/2 "2003-03-25T13:57:53Z")
1. Other than Americans, most English speakers tend to use “holiday” instead of “vacation”. 2. He was a drunken yob. ---
**Author:** ![merge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@merge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merge)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-or-holiday/164011/3 "2003-03-25T14:20:26Z")
really?? so what do they call holidays? ---
**Author:** ![Xerxes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/d2c977/32.png) [@Xerxes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xerxes)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-or-holiday/164011/4 "2003-03-25T15:45:40Z")
> [@](#): > > so what do they call holidays? Err… holidays? I’m not sure I get the distinction between vacation and holiday. Over here, when we take two weeks off work, we’re on holiday. So we’d use it as ‘where are you going on holiday?’ etc. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-or-holiday/164011/5 "2003-03-25T15:53:00Z")
I think you’re asking what we call national holidays, like your Presidents Day or Labor Day. Right? We call 'em whatever they are. Bank Holidays, May Day, whatever. I’m going on holiday to Rhodes in eight and a half weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-or-holiday/164011/6 "2003-03-25T15:57:57Z")
FWIW, I use “on vacation” and “on holiday” interchangeably. I never know which one I’ll use until after I’ve said it. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-or-holiday/164011/7 "2003-03-25T16:00:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Xerxes \* > \*\*Err… holidays? > > I’m not sure I get the distinction between vacation and holiday. Over here, when we take two weeks off work, we’re on holiday. So we’d use it as ‘where are you going on holiday?’ etc. \*\* To Americans, we go on vacations, two weeks in the summer to the beach, what have you. Going to the beach, Disney World or Europe is a vacation. Holidays are things like Christmas, Thanskgiving, Labor Day, when work is closed. Maybe a “bank holiday”. Most people visit family on holidays, but go some place to relax (not the same thing as visiting family) during vacation. Clear? ---
**Author:** ![Xerxes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/d2c977/32.png) [@Xerxes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xerxes)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-or-holiday/164011/8 "2003-03-25T16:26:50Z")
I think so. Your vacation = our holiday, your holidays = our public/bank holidays. Yet another example of two countries separated by a common language…