The word Urlaub made my mind wander a little down a rabbit trail:
In English, we use the word vacation as our time off work or school ... school children might get a "break" - like a Christmas Break or a Spring Break - but in the summer time, it is VACATION (not that you couldn't say summer BREAK, but not so much). A vacation is when we have time off from our jobs or school or responsibilities.
In German, there is also the word Ferien.
Ferien - in my opinion - coincides better with the British use of "holiday" ... Schulferien are school holidays - Winterferien, Weihnachtsferien (Christmas break), Sommerferien, etc.
However, when one in on vacation (Urlaub), you might stay at a Ferienwohnung (holiday/vacation apartment/home).
When I googled the differences between Urlaub and Ferien, I came across an interesting origin for the word Urlaub: it may have derived from the German verb erLAUBen (to allow). It kind of implies that someone (an employer or your school administration) ALLOWS you to have a vacation.
To make things even more interesting, there is also the German word Feier ... not to be confused with Ferien. A Feier is a party or a celebration or fete ... but a Feiertag is a holiday - a day off work and school like a federal holiday in the United States. Feierabend (Abend=evening) is the end of the work day. It's time to go home and rest. It is the end of the Arbeitstag (work day) ... sometimes when colleagues leave their job site, they might say goodbye by simply saying, "Feierabend!" It can also be said sarcastically when a job goes downhill and you want to quit: "Na, dann, Feierabend." It is kind of like saying, "I give up."
And this is the end of my Arbeit (work) on this blog post ... as well as the end of my Urlaub (vacation). And so I say, "Feierabend!"
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