VIDEO: The ancestry of holidays

With an average person spending 17 per cent of their disposable income on holidays, it is worth dedicating a short ancestry to the art of holidaying.
History of holidaysHistory of holidays
History of holidays

Derived from the old English word ‘Haligdaeg’ and originally referred to as special religious days or ‘holy day’, the birth of the modern holiday took place in 1841 when 500 supporters of alcohol abstinence embarked on a 120-mile return train journey from Leicester to Loughborough.

Fast forward to 2015 when Brits made 65.7m visits abroad.

How did we turn into vacationholics? According to research by Saga Travel, conducted to celebrate their 65th anniversary, 34 per cent of people say they are more adventurous about holidays now than they were 10 years ago and 15 per cent of women go as far as to say they are ‘a lot more’ adventurous than a decade ago.

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This sense of adventure and the accessibility of it can be attributed in part to the growth in air and sea travel allowing companies to provide all kinds of holidays, truly expanding options when it comes to vacationing.

Stats reveal that nearly one in three people choose different destinations every time they travel.

With so many travel options then it is no surprise that we are less likely to save for a rainy day when in abundance of a few extra pounds.

According to research, 26 per cent of 25-to-34 year olds say that if they had more money, they would most likely spend it on holidays, and it’s not just the twenty and thirty-year-olds, 24 per cent of those aged 55+ would equally indulge in holidaying over saving.

Here’s a look back at the evolution of what has become a modern day obsession.

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