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Lesson35 Holidays and Vacations in the US.
第35課：美國的節日和假日。
In some countries, holidays and vacations are the same thing. That is because people in those countries take their vacations only when there is a holiday. But that is not necessarily how it is done in the United States.
在有些國家，節日和假日是一回事，因為在這些國家里，人們只有在節日時才會有假日。但是在美國情況卻不一定是這樣。
In America, holidays are simply days set aside for the celebration of a particular event, such as historical or religious commemorations. The word holiday originally meant "holy day," signifying an important day on the religious calendar. Today, however, the word has nothing to do with religion.
在美國，節日是用來慶祝某一特殊事件的，例如歷史或者宗教紀念活動。“節日”這個詞在英語中的原義是“神圣的日子”，指的是宗教日歷上的重要日子。然而，這個詞現在與宗教沒有任何關系。
There are holidays of both religious and secular significance. The religious holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, are well known because they are shared by the many countries of the Christian world. But there are many secular holidays, too, such as Veteran's Day, Memorial Day and Labour Day. Holidays like these were established to honour persons who have served their nation or died in the service of their country and those whose labour makes the country strong.
有些節日具有宗教意義，有些沒有。宗教節日例如圣誕節和復活節是為人所熟知的，因為它們在基督教世界的許多國家都有慶祝活動。但是也有一些非宗教的節日，例如退伍軍人節、陣亡將士紀念日和勞動節。設立這些節日是用來紀念那些為曾經服務祖國的人們、為國捐軀的人們和為祖國的強大而辛苦勞作的人們。
All of these are holidays, but they aren't vacations. Vacations are usually longer than holidays. A person on vacation often travels out of town to see the country, or to visit relatives, and might be gone for several weeks or longer. They almost always use paid vacation time, and they must, of course, first get permission from their employer.
所有這些都是節日，但不是假日。假日通常比節日持續時間要長。度假的人經常要外出旅游觀光或者探親訪友，可能要離開幾個星期或者更長的時間。他們幾乎都是帶薪度假，當然要事先征得老板的同意。
Sometimes vacations are taken together with holidays, especially during the "holiday season." This starts with Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November, and ends with New Year's Day.
有時候，度假的時間和節日剛好重合，特別是在圣誕節前后的“度假旺季”里，即從感恩節，十一月的第四個星期四，一直到元旦這段時間。
commemoration 紀念, 紀念會secular 世俗的, 非宗教的
