A published holiday an employee may take, rather than one everybody gets.
An optional holiday is a day on an official list that an individual may elect to take, usually from a fixed allowance. India's restricted holidays are the best-known instance: a gazetted list closes everything, and a second list lets an employee choose a small number of days that matter to them.
The arrangement exists because a plural society cannot close for every community's festivals without closing most of the year. It gives the observance official standing without imposing it.
Operationally these are the days that half-empty an office while every calendar says it is open. Capacity falls and nothing is closed, which is precisely the case a closure-only calendar cannot represent.
Each of these is published on an official list as elective rather than universal — a day some people take and most do not.
| 🇵🇰 | Friday 1 January 2027Pakistan | New Year's DayRecognised, not a general closure. |
| 🇺🇾 | Wednesday 6 January 2027Uruguay | Children's DayMarked on the official calendar without closing the working day. |
| 🇭🇷 | Thursday 7 January 2027Croatia | Christmas kept on 7 JanuaryOrthodox Christmas, elective for those who observe it. |
A public holiday applies to everyone. An optional holiday is elected by an individual from a list.
An optional holiday has official standing and an allowance behind it. An observed-but-open day has neither — it is simply widely marked.
See also public holiday · observed but open · observance
We hold this as operational_status: optional. See what we hold.