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Ask for help > Can you help, please?
Can you help, please?
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savvinka
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Can you help, please?
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I can �t explain to my student when we use singular and when we use plural:
on holiday, on winter holidays. Can we use "on holiday" when speak about a week of holidays. I feel we can. The problem is that in Russian holidays at school is used in plural only.Does on holiday mean a day of holday? Can we say a public holiday bearing in mind two or three days of holiday? And what is the difference between holidays and vacations? I �ve been confused myself!
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5 Jan 2010
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libertybelle
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Dear Savvinka
You can be on holiday or on a holiday which means you are not at work or school and perhaps have gone to stay at the beach for a week.
On or in winter holidays means that you usually, every year, have the winter holiday off to also do something else than go to work. so that �s more general than one specific holiday.
Holiday probably comes from the words holy day, which was a religious time off.
Today holidays and vacations pretty much mean the same thing.
It might differ from country to country. In the USA they are both used for religious and non-religious days off - such as
The Easter holiday - Easter vacation
Christmas holiday and Christmas vacation.
The Spring holiday is often called The Spring break.
Hope this helps.
L
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5 Jan 2010
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redcamarocruiser
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That is indeed a difficult question.
Part of the confusion is that in the United States we do not usually say we are on holidays. We say we are on vacation.
In school we have Christmas vacation, sumer vacation, etc. Although some schools say winter break instead of Christmas vacation in order to be politically correct in multicultural schools where everybody celebrates different holidays.
Holidays in American English is just the day of commemoration (not the vacation time). For example Valentine �s Day is a holiday that people celebrate, but it is not a federal holiday where banks and schools close. So, people don`t take a vacation on Valentine �s Day because it is a regular business day despite being a holiday.
Chaunikha is a holiday that lasts several days, but we still call it a holiday (hot the Chaunikha holidays).
You will hear "Happy Holidays" around the Christmas season because it is generic for the several different holidays that run together in the Christmas season (Saint Nicholas, New Years, Chaunikh,Christmas, Kwanza, and I might have forgoten a few others).
Speakers of British English may need to correct me, but it is my understanding that they say on holiday or on holidays when we would say on vacation.
UPDATE
I see that Liberty Belle�s message and mine crossed, and although I don`t remember people in the US saying on holiday when they mean on vacation, I am probably mistaken because I have been living in a non English speaking environment and was out of the country for many years. Liberty Belle is an authoritative source, and I didn`t want to appear to contradict what she said. I didn`t see her message until I posted mine since we were answering at teh same time.
Thanks Liberty Belle for sharing your knowledge.
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5 Jan 2010
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occurin�
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Hi all,
You �re right, British English is different. Examples:
My brother is on holiday in the south of France. He comes back next week.
[I think our American cousins say "on vacation" here]
The holidays start on July 25. We don �t come back to school until September.
Also: The Christmas holidays are from 21st Dec to 5th Jan.
[The summer/ Easter / Christmas holidays, meaning annual days away from school]
May the first is a holiday to celebrate the labour movement.
[one day can be "a holiday" for everyone in the country, to celebrate some important event)
These kids are hard work - I need a holiday!
[I need a "vacation"]
That should clear it up...
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5 Jan 2010
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RabbitWho
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Redcammarocruiser is right, no one in Britain says vacation.
To me "On holiday" means abroad / away some where and "on holidays" means anywhere not at work or school, ie you have a day off.
So in my mind for example:
Summer Holidays = 3 months off school
Summer Holiday = 2 week trip to Spain
Just to put this in context I should mention I �m Irish.
Can we say a public holiday bearing in mind two or three days of holiday?
I wouldn �t, but I can �t think of more than one public holiday together so it �s hard to think of what I would say. "Two bank holidays" I suppose.
For the most part I think it doesn �t matter and you can switch around
Holiday and Holidays as often as you like and no one will notice or be
confused.
Tell them to stick with normal plural rules for the word "day" to avoid confusion.
Edit: I think occurin� s answer is the best! Clearest, most accurate and most complete.
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5 Jan 2010
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Zora
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In Canada, we would say "We are going on holiday(s) for our summer vacations."
In my part of Canada, saying "summer holidays" isn �t that frequent. Holidays in the sense that you are referring to would most likely be used as "a public/bank holiday" or "A statutory holiday." but not usually "winter holiday(s)", etc. because for us that is a trip somewhere.
For my winter holiday last year, we went to Paris during our winter break.
Different countries, different ways to say things and they are all correct. 
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5 Jan 2010
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