what is the difference between Public Holidays & National Holidays

What is the difference between Public Holidays and National Holidays?

Public holidays are specific days on which most businesses, schools, and government offices are closed, allowing people to celebrate or commemorate particular events. These holidays are typically recognized nationwide and are often established by government authorities.

National holidays, on the other hand, refer to holidays that are officially recognized and celebrated by a specific country to honor significant historical events, achievements, or cultural traditions unique to that nation. National holidays may vary from country to country and are often deeply rooted in the history and identity of the nation.

In summary, while public holidays are generally observed by the public sector and businesses for a day of rest or celebration, national holidays hold a more profound significance to a particular country's history and culture.

Public holiday is a holiday observed in a public office and includes a national holiday. In the government sector, there is no such national holiday, but they have closed holidays and restricted holidays. The former are the days on which the office will remain closed, and the latter are the days on which the office will be open, but some employees will enjoy a holiday. Since government offices are meant for the general public (even though the employees sitting there feel that the office is just for their enjoyment and a source of revenue to them), the government has an obligation to inform the public that the office will remain closed on certain days, and hence these holidays are called public holidays.

Moving on to national holidays, it is an outcome of a thought that if private establishments do not put any restrictions regarding closing on certain days, they will run all days without giving the employees any holiday to enjoy. Therefore, various state governments made their own acts and rules concerning holidays. While deciding which days the establishment should be closed, the main consideration was that there should be some common days of national importance observed by all establishments as holidays, known as National Holidays. This is left to the discretion of the state. Almost all states have declared three days as holidays of national importance: January 26th, August 15th, and October 2nd. Additionally, many states have included May 1st, International Labour Day, as a national holiday, and Karnataka has added November 1st, their state formation day, as a holiday to be observed by all establishments. Since these are mandatory holidays not connected with any festival, religious faith, or sentiments, they are called national holidays.

When comparing Public Holidays and National Holidays, we can see that all National Holidays are Public Holidays, but not all public holidays are National Holidays. For example, Christmas is a Public Holiday but not a national holiday because it is connected with a religious faith.