How to put your Facebook account on hold?

If you are a Facebook user and want to take a break from the service with an intent to be back one day, there is way to do just that without having to delete your profile.
Here are the steps needed to put your Facebook page on hold according to the New York Times: Click on the Account button at the top of the screen and choose the Account Settings option. At the bottom of the screen, you should see an option to “deactivate” your account.
Account deactivation differs from outright deletion because Facebook keeps all of your profile content (like your Friends list and photos) in storage, but it removes your profile page from public view to everyone else on the site. The deactivation page requires a reason for leaving and gives you the chance to send messages to friends telling them you’re going AWOL.
Later, if you decide to return, you can log back into Facebook with your old name and password and reactivate your account. Your profile content should eventually reappear on the site. If you decide that you want to leave for good, log back into Facebook and submit a request to permanently delete your account from Facebook’s database.
As the site’s help center explains, all the personally identifiable information (like name, e-mail address and screen names) from your account gets flushed, but a copies of things like photos and notes may stay on Facebook’s servers for “technical reasons.” Facebook states that the content left behind is dissociated from any identifying information and that it does not use material from deactivated or deleted accounts.

For more, see NewYorkTimes.com