How do I remove certain holidays from my calendar (but not all us holidays)?

I should have said I have access to the iTunes Store, but not able to backup to iTunes (which is sometimes necessary to work with certain features I’ve noticed). My bad for not being clearer. Thanks for the clarification!

I don’t want to re-enter a year’s worth of events in a new Calendar app,

You Don't Have Too!

I don't know why this is confusing, but I'll give it another go.

The Calendar app displays calendar files. The calendar files contain events. Each individual calendar file is displayed in Calendar as long as you have it checked in the Calendar List. You can display as many calendars as you wish, all combined together and shown on the Calendar viewer, listed by color.

You can also subscribe to calendars you find online. They are created by others and you can see the events in those calendars, but you cannot edit them. They can be displayed along with your other calendars.

The Holidays calendar file is a Subscribed calendar. Like any subscribed calendar, the events in it are fixed and cannot be changed. Unsubscribing from that calendar will not affect any of your other calendars.

Subscribing to a different holiday calendar will not affect anything in your other calendars.

One App, Calendar, displays many calendars at the same time. The Calendar App is not a single monolithic entity where every event is kludged together in one file. Each calendar in the App is independent of the other calendars. Deleting one, hiding the events, or adding a new calendar does not affect the other calendars.

So how do I get only the holidays I want on my named Calendar? It appears that I have to delete ALL the Holidays by deleting the “holiday” list, and then renter the ones I want? Is that my only option?

You have red cupcakes and green cupcakes and white cupcakes. Your cupcakes are in your glass display case, and there is a nice piece of plastic film on the front of the case that points to each flavor and color.

You decide you want a different design on the plastic film. You peel off the old one and apply the new one that has the design you like. The cupcakes have not moved...they are still in the base app - the Cupcake app. But the case looks different and has different words, because you subscribed to a different piece of film.

Many of the different films are free, and the may have cupcake descriptions that are different then the other films.

When you change the plastic film on the front of your calendar, none of your events - or cupcakes - move, but the new film has stuff you want to see, not offensive holidays.

melody145 wrote:

So how do I get only the holidays I want on my named Calendar? It appears that I have to delete ALL the Holidays by deleting the “holiday” list, and then renter the ones I want? Is that my only option?

You unsubscribe from Apple's holiday calendar and you follow the instructions at the link I posted to find a holiday calendar that meets your needs. If you can't find one that meets your needs, manually add the desired holidays to any of your own calendars, or create a new calendar which you use to maintain the holidays you want to see.

Stuart423 wrote:

You're the one who wrote: "...Perhaps you can dumb it down a bit more for me?..."

I'm certainly not being condescending. I'm trying to use a different visual to explain how to change calendars because both you and the OP appeared to be having trouble understanding the other folks who were trying to help.

If you took that for being anything other than helpful, you have also misunderstood me.

I thought it was a pretty good analogy, Stuart!

By “dumb it down”, I was hoping for step by step instructions, as in

Step one: go to settings

Step two: open calendar

THAT was what I was hoping for. What you gave me came across as was a convoluted jumble of words that may have made sense to you, and maybe even other people, but not to me, and obviously not to the op. At this point, I’ll go ask someone at the Apple store, but I do appreciate the attempt!

You have to find a subscribed calendar. The link that Barney provided is a link to the instructions on a site that provides many calendars. It explains how to search the site for calendars. Have you looked at that link yet?

How to Find and Subscribe to Calendars for Just About Anything with iCalShare

Do it from your computer or from iCloud. I included those instructions. Someone could have explained that too you sooner but, I imagine that, since this is a Mac forum, that's the device people assumed you were using.

What is ICal?

I don’t want a new calendar; I want to keep my currrnt calendar that came with my IPhone—on which I have a years’ worth of events, and past events I don’t want to lose. However, there are events on the preprogrammed “holidays” that I want to remove. Apparently I can’t because Apple will not let you.

I appreciate everyone’s willingness to help, but it appears that several of us do not understand the technology—and titles—being referred to by responders.

At this point, I am assuming there is nothing I can do to keep ONLY the holidays/events I want if I want to keep my current calendar.

Thanks!

Perhaps screenshots would help us, because I understand none of that. I keep understanding that the responders want us to “subscribe” (which means what? But a new app in the App Store?) to a new calendar. Those of us asking for help don’t want a new calendar for reasons we have stated. We just want to personalize our holiday/event listing.

Apparently our only option is to eliminate the whole holiday list, or get a new calendar, neither of which is a desired solution apparently. But responders keep telling us to do something else—much of which is in technical terms that at least I don’t understand. I’m just s basic IPhone user....

I just need an answer to my question: can the Apple holiday calendar be changed? Yes or No? Anyone know why Apple would not allow that if No?

The holiday calendar is not "your" calendar. You can not alter the holiday calendar at all. The holiday calendar and your calendar are two completely different entities that you can see mixed together in one interface.

melody145 wrote:

Perhaps screenshots would help us, because I understand none of that. I keep understanding that the responders want us to “subscribe” (which means what? But a new app in the App Store?) to a new calendar. Those of us asking for help don’t want a new calendar for reasons we have stated. We just want to personalize our holiday/event listing.

Apparently our only option is to eliminate the whole holiday list, or get a new calendar, neither of which is a desired solution apparently. But responders keep telling us to do something else—much of which is in technical terms that at least I don’t understand. I’m just s basic IPhone user....

Have you read the thread? Have you looked at any of the links we've provided? You don't need a new app. You need to subscribe to a different holiday calendar. It will be in the same app you know and love.At least one of the links provided has pictures. The others have written instructions that are written at a level that should be accessible to even fairly novice users.

I just need an answer to my question: can the Apple holiday calendar be changed? Yes or No? Anyone know why Apple would not allow that if No?

No, it cannot. This has also been explained already but, let me try again. All subscription calendar files conform to an international standard. They cannot be edited. Apple didn't invent this standard.

Again, you are not obligated to use Apple's holiday calendar file. You can use any other one you find that meets the same international standard. Links to sources have been provided. Links to instructions have been provided. Barney even typed out instructions.

So... Apple is complying with an ”international standard” for subscription calendar files. So I guess this standard is what prevents Apple from allowing users to delete individual holidays they prefer not to see. Please provide a reference to this standard. Thanks.

Thank you, Barney. I’m unfamiliar with the language in this standard. Does it say somewhere that users can’t be allowed to delete individual holidays if they choose? If so, can you please point me to that section? Thanks.