Life may not always be a holiday, but the calendar sure is full of them. While most Americans are quite familiar with Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Independence Day, there are many other holidays observed here and around the world that may be less familiar. Here's a list of 20 holidays we think you should know -- asking your boss if you can take off from work on these days is up to you. --Glenn Michael Gordon

Anzac Day April 25, a holiday in Australia and New Zealand commemorating the landing at Gallipoli, Turkey, in 1915

Ascension Day fortieth day after Easter, a Christian feast commemorating the Ascension of Christ into heaven

Ash Wednesday the first day of Lent, an annual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter

Assumption Day August 15, Christian feast celebrating the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven

Bastille Day July 14, a holiday in France commemorating the storming of the Bastille in 1789

Bon/Feast of Lanterns in July or August, a Buddhist festival held in Japan, honoring ancestral spirits

Canada Day/Dominion Day July 1, a holiday in Canada celebrating the anniversary of the formation of the Dominion of Canada in 1867

Candlemas February 2, a Christian feast commemorating the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple

Columbus Day October 12, a holiday in the U.S. commemorating the discovery of the New World by Columbus and his landing in the West Indies in 1492

Day of the Vow December 16, a holiday in South Africa celebrating the victory of the Boers over a Zulu army at Blood River in 1838

Hanukkah/Chanukkah/Festival of Lights usually in December, an eight-day Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the Temple by the Maccabees after their victory over the Syrians in 165 B.C.

Mardi Gras the day before Lent, celebrated by carnivals, especially in New Orleans

Muharram the first month of the Islamic calendar (February in 2005). On the tenth day, Shia Muslims mark the martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed

Orangemen's Day July 12, a public holiday in Northern Ireland celebrated by Protestants -- "Orangemen," after William, Prince of Orange -- as the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690

Passover/Pesach in March or April, an eight-day Jewish festival commemorating the exodus of the Jews from Egypt

Ramadan the ninth month of the Islamic calendar (October in 2005), when Muslims observe a 30 days' fast from sunrise to sunset

Rosh Hashanah Jewish high holy day marking the beginning of the Jewish New Year, celebrated in late September or early October

Twelfth Night/Epiphany January 6, the twelfth night after Christmas, celebrating the manifestation of the divine nature of Christ to the Magi, the wise men who paid homage to the infant Jesus

Walpurgis Night the eve of May 1, the feast day of St. Walpurgis, in Germany the supposed occasion of a witches' sabbath

Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement in September or October, a Jewish high holy day of fasting from sundown to sundown, to pray for the atonement of