Please vote and comment:
How much vacation from work do you take every year?
I put 2 weeks, but a poll like this is not going to work for me. My life is not a collection of interchangable years. That's especially true now. I have been taking a very extended vacation since I was laid off last year. I will probably start looking for a job soon, though. I'm getting tired of not working. 
I will complete four years of experience this year, so I can't really say 'every year', but the last three years, I've taken about 2 weeks each. This year I've touched a month already - but 3 weeks out of that was for my own wedding, so I dunno if that counts. So, yeah 2 weeks is about right.
I just remembered my favorite vacation story. I used to work at a place called PRC that had a "menu" benefits system. You could buy extra vacation but it cost a reduction in your paycheck. Or if you had vacation left over, they did not force you to take it the way some places do, you could sell vacation days and get paid for them. So I would buy vacation days, get a raise, and then sell vacation days back at the higher price. 
Edit: Also, do you guys in other countries call vacation "holiday"? (I don't really like either term.)
About 4-5 days a year, excluding statutory holidays, Saturdays and Sundays.
But usually I end up spending all my time answering corporate email from home on vacation days anyway.
You should just get out of the house. That way, you have no access to the mail.
One week at a stretch. And the other week spread over the whole year. This does not include weekends, and other public holidays.
I use the term vacation. But I know people who use the term 'holiday' as well.
I really value my holidays. Four weeks a year is hardly enough. Every couple of years, I like to "retire" and take a few extra months off.
Vacation !!!!! Hmmmm !!!! I am supposed to have 3weeks off every year but i take around 2weeks but the good thing is that i am going on a holiday next week 
Most of the jobs that I had here in the US gave me between 10 and 15
working days plus two discretionary days and several sick days.
I always take the discretionary first and then vacation, as discretionary
days are not paid when you quit.
When I was working in Brazil, vacation was 30 consecutive days -- by
law you are allowed to sell 10 days and you cannot carry over any days
for next vacation.
The last vacation I had was January of last year, for fifteen working days.
I took a new job last November, thus I have not had any vacation since January.
I plan to take a sebbatical pretty soon.
Enjoying life is much more important than money.
I take leave in bits, 1 day, 0.5 day something like that
And when I reconcile at the end of the year about the leave I took, they seem like lost bits in Information Super Highway.
Though on leave, most of the time I answer / help official calls.
But I prefer to disconnect myself from the world atleast for few days in a vacation
I work for the state of pa, so I get lots of leave time :).
Hey Neo,
You didn't comment about your vacation ? 
I work 12hr shift and work half of the month, every month i get 1 week off as well as a few days here and there also get my holiday allowance which is 184 hrs not including Bank holidays if i work them i get time in lieu as it would be my normal shift, but if i work as overime i get double time plus ieu day back.
The US is *terrible* for holidays, from what I've gathered. Here in the UK I would guess 22 days are the average. I'm on 22 and I get the option to buy 2 more day's holiday, which I always take. Don't really understand you folks on the list that hardly get any holiday and then don't take your full allowance... Maybe you just have really really ace and relaxed jobs?
As far as I'm aware 'vacation' is mainly US-English, whereas 'holiday' is the English term for it.
Europe does a little better than the UK, at least northern Europe and countries like France. France even have a bit of a summer shut-down where everyone disappears to their homes in the south of France - nice.
Practically 6 weeks ... including all holiday times such as xmas.
Insanely lot .. but that's one of the downsides of being stuck in Europe 
hm in my first year as unix admin I took <1 week, this was last year, this year I'll take about 3 weeks, but I still have 4 weaks left from last year + 2 from this year
and I don't get them paid if i don't use them, but I can keep them for 3 years, then I'll be forced to take them
and yes we call vacation holliday in austria
I just returned from 9 days vacation at the sea side, it was awesome, but usually 2 weeks are enough for me.
I've worked mainly for major coporations and most give you two weeks to start and then you build on that the longer you are employed. When I worked for a bank we had to take two weeks at one time. (some law). They didn't tell me that during the interview and hiring. It really stinks when you only have two weeks and you can't spread it out.
I have been at this job for almost 25 years. We get 10 days to start then 3 weeks (15 business days) after 5 years, 5 personal days and the week between Christmas and New Years off, plus 6 holidays thru the year. We earn another 5 vacation days after 15 years employement and then 1 day for every year after 20years up to 25 yeras for a max of 25 earned vacation days. We can also purchase up to 5 days.
We aren't allowed to sell them.
Since I still have a child at home - although he is high school age - I take the majority of my vacation time in the summer. I reduce my work week to 4 days for the months of July and August then use the rest for family trips.
A few years back they encouraged us to buy additional vacation time - up to 10 days - to reduce overhead so the company could show a better profit. I jumped at the chance.
(There's always the chance they might forget who you are if you don't show up now and then - go figure :p)
In October of 2005, before my employer started mandating that users take their vacation time or lose it, I had acquired 10 weeks of vacation. They told me I had to take 6 weeks of it before January 1, 2006.
So I took off two weeks in October, two weeks for Thanksgiving and two weeks for Christmas.
Now I acquire 5 weeks per year (I've been here for 11.5 years) and I rarely have time to use it. But I try my best!