Encyclopedia of Holidays and Celebrations: A Country-by-CountryGuide explores major holidays and festivals in 206 countries. The firsttwo volumes are organized alphabetically by country. The third volumefeatures overview articles that provide detailed information about majorholidays celebrated around the world, as well as articles on majorworld religions. Country entries include: general information, includinglocation, population, government, languages, religions, and nationalholidays; a brief introduction to the country's origins, geography, economy, current lifestyle and culture, and cuisine; subsections onnational holidays, religious holidays, regional holidays, and rites ofpassage; subentries on holidays, including the date it is celebrated;who celebrates it; and a description of the origins, symbols, and ritualsassociated with the celebration/commemoration; and further reading