‘On a holiday’ or ‘for a holiday’?

Question from Sarika in India:

Which is correct ‘on holiday‘ or ‘for a holiday‘

A quick answer to Sarika’s question:

Sarika, you can use ‘for’ or ‘on’ with holiday and both would be correct. You can also drop the article ‘a’ when using ‘on’ (the third sentence below). Look at these three sentences, all of which are correct:

1. I went there for a holiday.
2. I went there on a holiday.
3. I went there on holiday.

You can substitute the word ‘holiday’ with ‘vacation’ (the more usual word in American and Canadian English) using ‘for’ and ‘on’ in the same ways.