All lines in the holidays file that begin with an asterisk (``*'') are comment lines. The first non-comment line of the holidays file must list the year, the beginning of the prime-time period, and the end of the prime-time period. Prime time is defined as time a specified interval that occurs every day, except on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays listed in the holidays file. For example, the following line indicates that the file is for 1992, and that prime time starts at 8:00AM and ends at 6:00PM. Time is given in 24-hour clocktime.
1992 0800 1800
Each of the remaining non-commented lines lists one holiday. These lines must begin with the date of the holiday in mm/dd format. All remaining information on the line is ignored, so a description of the holiday can be given. The following are examples of holiday lines:
1/1 New Year's Day
5/25 Memorial Day
which is equivalent to
The holidays file should be updated at the end of each year. If the holidays file specifies a year prior to the current year, or the end of the current year is near, then the accounting commands that use the holidays file will issue a message stating that it needs to be updated.