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In France, Christmas is a family holiday. You stay home. New Year's Eve is when you go out.

All in all, we Muslims have only two holidays, and they're always getting moved around from season to season, from month to month, because we're dependent on the moon and not the sun, and unlike the Jews, we haven't created a leap year, so we have no Adar Bet.

Holidays are all different depending on the company and time of your life.

Spring Break is very strange. I grew up in France, so I don't know Spring Break. That doesn't exist in Europe.

I've got two young children, so holidays are not the same as they used to be. There are now two types: family holidays and holidays you need from that holiday.

Is it too late to institute a leap year and mandate that the holidays fall on regular, convenient dates - so that Id al-Fitr will come, say, in the spring and Id al-Adha in early summer?

Every summer, around late July and into August, I find myself in Europe, performing at any festival that will have me.

Americans have much less holiday, so for them, four or five days away is like a mini vacation, but for us, it's just a long weekend. In Europe, one takes time off more casually.

Christmas comes during a season when the Earth is in its darkest time. It's a holiday for the family and for everyone.

For years, I never knowingly went on a holiday. When I travelled, it was for work. Now I am a huge advocate, particularly to places which have amazing wildlife, such as Antarctica, India and Patagonia.