I would like to know if it was possible to easily highlight particular periods/timeframes in a "time axis" chart.
For example, I would like to be able to display periods which correspond to holidays to give more insight about the data shown in a chart.

I know that it is possible to place sprites on the surface of a chart using pixel x/y coordinates but is there an easier way to place lines/rectangles between two particular dates without having to compute pixel coordinates manually?

Something like this:
period graph.png

Thank you