Long weekend
Encyclopedia
Long weekend is a term used in Western
countries to denote a weekend that is at least three days long (so, a "three-day weekend"), due to a holiday
falling on either the Friday or Monday.
Most countries (although notably not the USA) also feature many "four-day weekends," in which two days adjoining the weekend are holidays. (Examples can include Easter Monday
/ Good Friday
, and Christmas Day / Boxing Day
.)
Further, in many nations, when a lone holiday occurs on a Tuesday or a Thursday, the gap between that day and the weekend may also be designated as a holiday, or set to be a movable or floating holiday, or indeed work/school may be avoided by consensus unofficially. This is typically referred to by a phrase involving "bridge" in most languages.
A special situation exists in France in some elementary schools, where there is no school on Wednesday: thus, any four-day weekend is essentially a "five-day weekend" for the kids and their teachers. Any four-day bridge, for example: Thursday (Holiday) and Friday (bridge day) for Ascension, is essentially a "five-day weekend" to some teachers.
Four-day "bridge" weekends are commonplace in non-English speaking countries, but there are only a couple of examples in English-speaking countries:
In the USA, the fourth Thursday of November is Thanksgiving
; but the adjacent Friday is made in to a non-working day at some businesses. In Melbourne
, Australia, the Melbourne Cup
holiday is a Tuesday, but very many people modify their work arrangements to have the Monday off. NextLongWeekend.com displays the upcoming long weekends in USA, Australia, Canada and United Kingdom.
In Spain, the "bridge" becomes an "aqueduct" in some years when the anniversary of the Spanish Constitution of 1978
(December 6) and the Blessed Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception
(December 8) and a weekend plus a movable holiday form a block of five days.
France uses the same "bridge" idiom: faire le pont (literally meaning simply "make the bridge") is the universal phrase used to mean taking additional holiday days, to make an "even longer" holiday. Remembering that in France there is no school on Wednesdays, this can lead to very long "weekends" indeed. For example, if there is already an official holiday on Thursday/Friday, one could "faire le pont" on the following Monday/Tuesday - leading to an "eight-day weekend" (Wednesday through Wednesday inclusive).
The Italians and Portuguese do the same with their cognates ponte."
In Slovenian
, the term podaljšan vikend ("prolonged weekend") is used for a three-day weekend. Four-day weekends also happen quite frequently, because January 1 and January 2 are public holidays (both New Year Day
), as well as May 1 and May 2 (both May Day
). A peculiar coincidence are Christmas Day and Independence Day
, falling on two consecutive dates.
In German, a bridge-related term is also used: a day taken off from work to fill the gap between a holiday Thursday (or Tuesday) and the weekend is called a Brückentag ("bridge day") in Germany and Switzerland, and a Fenstertag ("window day") in Austria. Since Ascension day is a holiday throughout Germany and Corpus Christi
is a holiday in large parts of the country (both of these holidays are always on Thursdays), such "bridge days" are fairly common, though always inofficial in character. The "bridge day" terminology is also used in Israel ("yom gishur"/"יום גישור") and The Netherlands ("brugdag").
The term długi weekend (Polish for long weekend) is also commonly used in the Polish language
. In Poland, such a phenomenon usually occurs several times a year. As well as the Easter weekend and the Christmas weekend, there is Corpus Christi
weekend (Corpus Christi is always on Thursday and people usually take Friday off as well) and it may occur also around other holidays. However, the best known long weekend is at the beginning of May, when there are holidays of Labour Day
on May 1 and 3rd May Constitution Day
. The weekend can in fact be up to 9 days long (April 28 – May 6) and, taking one to three days off work, Poles often go for small holidays then.
In Norwegian, the term "oval weekend" is used. An ordinary weekend is conceived of as "round" (although this is not stated explicitly), and adding extra days off makes it "oval". Norwegians also refer to "inneklemte" [squashed in]days, which are between a public holiday and a weekend. This is typical for the Friday after Ascension Day, which always falls on a Thursday. It is common to work in such days so as to be able to take them off and extend the weekend to four days.
Also in Swedish, the days between a weekend and a holiday are called "klämdagar" (squashed in days).
In Argentina, some national holidays that occur on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday (sometimes even on a Saturday) are officially moved to the closest Monday in order to create a long weekend.
In Brazil, when a holiday occurs in a Tuesday or a Thursday, some sectors of the society, as government and education, turn the day between the holiday and the weekend into a holiday. The four-day or even the three-day weekends are called feriados prolongados ("Extended holidays") or its popular form feriadão ("big holiday").
In Indonesia, when a holiday occurs on a Tuesday and Thursday, the day between that day and the weekend is informally termed 'Hari Kejepit Nasional' (lit. National Squeezed Day) causing some institutions to declare a day-off or even to some students or employees to declare themselves a day-off creating a very long weekend.
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
countries to denote a weekend that is at least three days long (so, a "three-day weekend"), due to a holiday
Holiday
A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
falling on either the Friday or Monday.
Most countries (although notably not the USA) also feature many "four-day weekends," in which two days adjoining the weekend are holidays. (Examples can include Easter Monday
Easter Monday
Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures...
/ Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
, and Christmas Day / Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
.)
Further, in many nations, when a lone holiday occurs on a Tuesday or a Thursday, the gap between that day and the weekend may also be designated as a holiday, or set to be a movable or floating holiday, or indeed work/school may be avoided by consensus unofficially. This is typically referred to by a phrase involving "bridge" in most languages.
A special situation exists in France in some elementary schools, where there is no school on Wednesday: thus, any four-day weekend is essentially a "five-day weekend" for the kids and their teachers. Any four-day bridge, for example: Thursday (Holiday) and Friday (bridge day) for Ascension, is essentially a "five-day weekend" to some teachers.
Four-day "bridge" weekends are commonplace in non-English speaking countries, but there are only a couple of examples in English-speaking countries:
In the USA, the fourth Thursday of November is Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
; but the adjacent Friday is made in to a non-working day at some businesses. In Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia, the Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
holiday is a Tuesday, but very many people modify their work arrangements to have the Monday off. NextLongWeekend.com displays the upcoming long weekends in USA, Australia, Canada and United Kingdom.
Linguistic idioms
The term for a four-day weekend in some Spanish-speaking countries is puente ("bridge") or simply "fin de semana largo".In Spain, the "bridge" becomes an "aqueduct" in some years when the anniversary of the Spanish Constitution of 1978
Spanish Constitution of 1978
-Structure of the State:The Constitution recognizes the existence of nationalities and regions . Preliminary Title As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution...
(December 6) and the Blessed Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
(December 8) and a weekend plus a movable holiday form a block of five days.
France uses the same "bridge" idiom: faire le pont (literally meaning simply "make the bridge") is the universal phrase used to mean taking additional holiday days, to make an "even longer" holiday. Remembering that in France there is no school on Wednesdays, this can lead to very long "weekends" indeed. For example, if there is already an official holiday on Thursday/Friday, one could "faire le pont" on the following Monday/Tuesday - leading to an "eight-day weekend" (Wednesday through Wednesday inclusive).
The Italians and Portuguese do the same with their cognates ponte."
In Slovenian
Slovenian language
Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
, the term podaljšan vikend ("prolonged weekend") is used for a three-day weekend. Four-day weekends also happen quite frequently, because January 1 and January 2 are public holidays (both New Year Day
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
), as well as May 1 and May 2 (both May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
). A peculiar coincidence are Christmas Day and Independence Day
Independence Day
An Independence Day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's assumption of independent statehood, usually after ceasing to be a colony or part of another nation or state, and more rarely after the end of a military occupation...
, falling on two consecutive dates.
In German, a bridge-related term is also used: a day taken off from work to fill the gap between a holiday Thursday (or Tuesday) and the weekend is called a Brückentag ("bridge day") in Germany and Switzerland, and a Fenstertag ("window day") in Austria. Since Ascension day is a holiday throughout Germany and Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
is a holiday in large parts of the country (both of these holidays are always on Thursdays), such "bridge days" are fairly common, though always inofficial in character. The "bridge day" terminology is also used in Israel ("yom gishur"/"יום גישור") and The Netherlands ("brugdag").
The term długi weekend (Polish for long weekend) is also commonly used in the Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
. In Poland, such a phenomenon usually occurs several times a year. As well as the Easter weekend and the Christmas weekend, there is Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
weekend (Corpus Christi is always on Thursday and people usually take Friday off as well) and it may occur also around other holidays. However, the best known long weekend is at the beginning of May, when there are holidays of Labour Day
Labour Day
Labour Day or Labor Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for...
on May 1 and 3rd May Constitution Day
Constitution of May 3, 1791
The Constitution of May 3, 1791 was adopted as a "Government Act" on that date by the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Historian Norman Davies calls it "the first constitution of its type in Europe"; other scholars also refer to it as the world's second oldest constitution...
. The weekend can in fact be up to 9 days long (April 28 – May 6) and, taking one to three days off work, Poles often go for small holidays then.
In Norwegian, the term "oval weekend" is used. An ordinary weekend is conceived of as "round" (although this is not stated explicitly), and adding extra days off makes it "oval". Norwegians also refer to "inneklemte" [squashed in]days, which are between a public holiday and a weekend. This is typical for the Friday after Ascension Day, which always falls on a Thursday. It is common to work in such days so as to be able to take them off and extend the weekend to four days.
Also in Swedish, the days between a weekend and a holiday are called "klämdagar" (squashed in days).
In Argentina, some national holidays that occur on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday (sometimes even on a Saturday) are officially moved to the closest Monday in order to create a long weekend.
In Brazil, when a holiday occurs in a Tuesday or a Thursday, some sectors of the society, as government and education, turn the day between the holiday and the weekend into a holiday. The four-day or even the three-day weekends are called feriados prolongados ("Extended holidays") or its popular form feriadão ("big holiday").
In Indonesia, when a holiday occurs on a Tuesday and Thursday, the day between that day and the weekend is informally termed 'Hari Kejepit Nasional' (lit. National Squeezed Day) causing some institutions to declare a day-off or even to some students or employees to declare themselves a day-off creating a very long weekend.