American Holidays
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This document summarizes several holidays and commemorative days celebrated around the world, including: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Memorial Day, Passover, Flag Day, Patriot Day, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, Halloween, Boxing Day, and Hanukkah. For each, it provides details on the date it falls, its origins and historical significance, and common traditions and activities associated with celebrating the day.
American Holidays
- 1. Holidays Done by: • Diana Calado nº 9 • Inês Santos nº 10 • Patricia Pereira nº 15
- 2. Martin Luther King Day The Martin Luther King Day is a national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King. It was established in 1983 and is celebrated on the third Monday of January, close to the anniversary date of King. It is one of three national holidays in the United States in commemoration of a person.
- 3. • Saint Valentine's Day, often simply Valentine's Day, is observed on February 14 each year. Today Valentine's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world, mostly in the West, although it remains a working day in all of them. •The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). • Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.
- 4. • Saint Patrick's Day or the Feast of Saint Patrick is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on 17 March, the anniversary of his death. It commemorates Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. • The day is generally characterized by the attendance of church services, wearing of green attire, public parades and processions, and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating, and drinking alcohol, which is often proscribed during the rest of the season. •Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador and Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish Diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand.
- 5. Memorial Day • Memorial Day is an American federal holiday observed annually on the last Monday of May. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all wars. It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end. • Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries.
- 6. Passover begins at sundown • Passover is a Jewishfestival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar, which is in spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and is celebrated for seven or eight days. It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays. • Together with Shavuot ("Pentecost") and Sukkot ("Tabernacles"), Passover is one of the three pilgrimage festivals (Shalosh Regalim) during which the entire Jewish populace historically made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Samaritans still make this pilgrimage to Mount Gerizim, but only men participate in public worship.
- 7. Flag Day • On June 14, 1917, as the soldiers of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) travel to join the Allies on the battlefields of World War I in France, United States President Woodrow Wilson addresses the nation's public on the annual celebration of Flag Day.
- 8. Patriot day • In the United States, Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance (previously Patriot Day, until September 10, 2012) occurs on September 11 of each year, designated in memory of the 2,977 killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Initially, the day was called the Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001. When the new name was proposed, it received opposition from Massachusetts, which already had a Patriots' Day.
- 9. Thanksgiving • Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Several other places around the world observe similar celebrations. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada. Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, but today is celebrated in a more secular manner. •
- 10. Remembrance day • Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. •This day, or alternative dates, is also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month," in accordance with the Armistice, signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. ("At the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 a.m.) World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919.
- 11. • The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields". These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.
- 12. Halloween • Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of "All Hallows' Evening"), also known as All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows (or All Saints). • Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (also known as "guising"), attending costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'- lanterns, lightingbonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.
- 13. • Boxing Day is traditionally the day following Christmas Day, when servants and trades people would receive gifts from their superiors or employers, known as a "Christmas box". Today, Boxing Day is better known as a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and some other Commonwealth nations..
- 14. Hanukkah Hanukkah (sometimes transliterated Chanukkah) is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days and nights. It starts on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev, which coincides with late November-late December on the secular calendar.