US Holidays

U.S.HOLIDAYSCETI2018ASYOUMAYALLKNOW…THEHOLIDAYSOFTHEWESTAREDIFFERENTTHANTHEHOLIDAYSOFCHINAHOWMANYCANYOUNAME?(WEHAVE10!)JANUARY1:NEWYEAR’S•JustlikehowLunarNewYeariscelebratedinChina,AmericancelebrateNewYear’sonthefirstdayofthesolarcalendar!•CelebrationsusuallystartonDecember31andlastsuntilJanuary1•ThisisamajorholidaytomanypeoplegobackhomeortoTimesSquare,NewYorkCityacoupleofdaysbeforeNewYear’stocelebrateandreunitewithfamily•Lotsofbeerandalcoholisinvolved…TIMESSQUAREONNEWYEAR’SEVEJANUARY15:MARTINLUTHERKINGJR.DAY•Dr.MartinLutherKingJr.isaimmenselyimportantfigureinUShistory•HefoughtforcivilrightsinAmericaduringthe1900sandwithouthim,itisentirelypossiblethattheUSwillnotbeasequalasitistoday•AllstudentsandfederalemployeestakeoffduringhisdaytoremembertheimportanceofequalityFEBRUARY14:VALENTINE’SDAY•OriginatingasaWesternChristianfeastdayhonoringSt.Valentine•Valentine'sDayisrecognizedasasignificantcultural,religious,andcommercialcelebrationofromanceandpassioninmanyregionsaroundtheworld•Typicalgiftsincludechocolates,flowers,stuffedanimals,andjewelry•Typicalactivities:goouttodinner,date,etc.•(It’salsosingle’sday;))3RDMONDAYINFEBRUARY:PRESIDENTS’DAYOTHERWISECALLEDWASHINGTON’SBIRTHDAYCANANYBODYGUESSWHICHWASHINGTON?PRESIDENTS’DAY•It’sGeorgeWashington’s!–WhichisactuallyFebruary22,1732bytheway…•President’sDayhonorsthepresidentofthepastandpresent,all45ofthem•ItisespeciallydedicatedtothefirstpresidentoftheUS,GeorgeWashington(althoughsomestatesmayfocusmoreonotherslikeAbrahamLincoln)•SchoolsandfederalemployeestakeofftorelaxMARCH17TH:ST.PATRICK’SDAY•Culturalandreligiouscelebrationheldon17March,thetraditionaldeathdateofSaintPatrick,theforemostpatronsaintofIreland.•Celebrationsgenerallyinvolvepublicparadesandfestivals•Irishtraditionalmusicanddancesessions•GreenandShamrocks!!•Lotsofpeopledrinkbeer!EASTER•1stSundayafterthe1stfullmooninSpring(April21st,2019fornextyear)•CelebrationofJesus’resurrection•Easteregghunts•EasterbunnyEASTER2NDSUNDAYOFMAY:MOTHER’SDAY•Celebrationhonoringthemotherofthefamily,aswellasmotherhood,maternalbonds,andtheinfluenceofmothersinsociety•CustomarytogivemotherscardandgiftstoshowthanksandloveLASTMONDAYINMAY:MEMORIALDAY•MemorialDaycommemoratesmembersofthearmedforceswhohavepassedawayduringmilitaryservice–ItdatesbacktotheAmericanCivilWar(mid1800s)torememberUnionsoldiers(representingaslave-freeAmerica,whichismostlytheNorth)whohavediedduringthefighting•Duetothemilitarysignificanceofthisday,manychoosetovisitcemeteriesandmemoriesandtoflytheUSflag•Now,however,MemorialDayrepresentsthestartofsummer,–Morepeoplenowhavebarbecuesandpicnicsandusethisasanexcusetodrinkalcoholallday3RDSUNDAYOFJUNE:FATHER’SDAY•Itcelebratesthecontributionthatfathersandfatherfiguresmakefortheirchildren'slives•Manypeoplesendorgivecardsorgiftstotheirfathers•CommonFather'sDaygiftsincludesportsitemsorclothing,electronicgadgets,outdoorcookingsuppliesandtoolsforhouseholdmaintenance.JULY4TH:INDEPENDENCEDAY•Otherwiseknownasthe4thofJuly•SortofliketheAmericanequivalentofOctober1•Duringthe1700s,AmericawasstillacolonyofGreatBritain–July4thwasthedaywhentheDeclarationofIndependencewaspublished,whichcalledforthecreationofaseparateAmericafromGreatBritainFIREWORKSANDTHESTATUEOFLIBERTYJULY4TH:INDEPENDENCEDAY•Byheart,thisisacelebrationofallthings“American”,especiallyfreedom–Duringtheday,weholdpicnics,barbecues,andfriendlyphysicalcompetitions(like3-leggedracesandhotdogeatingcompetitions)whilewewatchbeautifulfireworksduringthenight(inreallifeoronTV)FIRSTMONDAYINSEPTEMBER:LABORDAY•Duringthe19thand20thcenturies,Americaneconomywaslargelydominatedbyhugecompaniesthatheldmonopoliesoverpeople’slivesandspending–Inabidtokeepprofithigh,theypaidworkerslowandchargedconsumershigh–They,however,tookforgrantedhowtheirworkersmadeupmuchoftheirconsumerbase–Thus,thesetiredandtaken-advantage-ofworkersbandedtogethertoformgroupscalledlaborunions–Theyusedtheirpowerinnumberstocallformorehumaneworkingconditions,higherpay,andan8hourworkdayamongstothersFIRSTMONDAYINSEPTEMBER:LABORDAY•LaborDaycelebratestheaccomplishmentsoflaborunions–ManyAmericansalsotakeadvantageofthisholidaytotakeafinalsummerholidayorholdbarbecues2NDMONDAYINOCTOBER:COLUMBUSDAY•In1492,ChristopherColumbussailedtheoceanblue–HewasanItalianexplorercommissionedbyEnglandtoreachIndia–His“discovery”oftheAmericaspromptedEuropeaninterventioninthenewcontinent–WhiletheEuropeanpowerswerecolonizingthe“NewWorld”,theoldinhabitantsweredyingfromdiseaseorbeingenslaved2NDMONDAYINOCTOBER:COLUMBUSDAY•ThedualityofChristopherColumbus’sactionsmakesthisthemostcontroversialUSholiday–Oneonhand,hiscontributionstowardsthecreationoftheUSisunmistakable–Ontheother,hisbrutalitytowardstheindigenouspopulationisextremelyshameful–Asaresult,somepeoplecelebrateIndigenousPeople’sDayratherthanColumbusDay•Althoughdesignatedasafederalholiday,somestatesdon’tcelebratethiswhileevenforthosethatdo,schoolsandgovernmentfunctionsmayremainopen–ForthoseinstatesthatdocelebrateColumbusDay,itisreallynothingmorethanadayoffOCTOBER31ST:HALLOWEEN•Costumepartieswherepeopledressaswitches,ghos