祝日
しゅくじつ · shukujitsu · JLPT N2 · noun
legal holiday
🎌 祝 = celebrate + 日 = day: a day the whole nation celebrates together
祝 means to celebrate or congratulate, and 日 means day. National holidays are set-aside days when the whole country celebrates together.
祝 — 示 (altar/spirit) + 兄 (elder brother/person speaking)
Originally an oracle bone pictograph showing a person kneeling before an altar (示) with an open mouth, representing a priest reciting prayers or invocations. The meaning extended from 'invoke blessings' to the modern sense of 'wish' or 'congratulate'. The 示 component signals ritual/spirit, while 兄 contributes both meaning and sound.
日 — pictograph of the sun
日 is a pictograph of the sun, originally drawn as a circle with a dot or stroke inside representing the sun's substance. Over time the round shape was squared off into the modern rectangular form. It means 'sun' and by extension 'day'.