Key Difference: A national holiday is a day when a nation or a non-sovereign country celebrates its independence, establishment or an otherwise important occasion. A federal holiday is a day when a state or a province within a federation declares a public holiday.

A national holiday is a day when a nation or a non-sovereign country celebrates its independence, establishment or a momentous occasion. People often get confused with the holidays as declared on the birthday and deathday of the ruler or saints, but they can also be considered as a national holiday. Usually, all the countries have only one national holiday, but some countries have more than one. For example: Pakistan and India have three national holidays each.

The importance of the National holiday varies from country to country. In older times, people used to celebrate national holiday as any significant event, whereas, nowadays people used to celebrate a national holiday as a day of their independence. Denmark and the United Kingdom are among the few countries that do not have selected national days.

A federal holiday is a day when a state or a province within a federation declares a public holiday. It can be any occasion for which the particular state announces the public holiday. In the United States, a federal holiday is a legal/official holiday, which has been recognized by the U.S. government. The offices are closed on this day, and the employees are paid for the holiday. The federal holidays and the national holidays are one and the same thing in the U.S. The holidays which are included in the federal holiday: New Year’s Day, Washington’s Birthday, Labor Day, Columbus Day, etc.

Comparison between National Holiday and Federal Holiday:

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