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Holidays in America The major federal, religious, traditional, and
informal holidays celebrated in the United States
* These holidays begin at sundown on
the evening before the date given. |
January |
A federal holiday in the United
States, New Year's Day has its origin in Roman times, when
sacrifices were offered to Janus, the two-faced Roman deity who
looked back on the past and forward to the future. |
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Epiphany (Tues., Jan. 6,
2009) Epiphany (from Greek epiphaneia, "manifestation"),
falls on the 12th day after Christmas. It commemorates the
manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, as represented by
the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the miracle of the wine at the
marriage feast at Cana. One of the three major Christian
festivals, along with Christmas and Easter. Epiphany originally
marked the beginning of the carnival season preceding Lent, and
the evening preceding it is known as Twelfth Night. |
A federal holiday
observed on the third Monday in January that honors the late civil
rights leader. It became a federal holiday in 1986. |
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The most important
celebration in the Chinese calendar. Chinese months are reckoned by the
lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New
Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month
and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In
China, the New Year is a time for family reunions. In the United
States, however, many early Chinese immigrants arrived without
their families, and found a sense of community by celebrating the
holiday through neighborhood associations. |
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February |
Legend has it that if the groundhog
sees his shadow, he'll return to his hole, and winter will last
another six weeks. |
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A holiday in a few states, this
day was first formally observed in Washington, DC, in 1866, when
both houses of Congress gathered for a memorial address in tribute
to the assassinated president. In some places, it is combined with
Washington's Birthday and celebrated as President's Day. |
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Originally a pagan festival, the
holiday eventually was recast as a Christian feast day in honor of
St. Valentine—but there are at least three different early saints
by that name. How the day became associated with romance remains
obscure, and is further clouded by various fanciful legends.
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A federal
holiday observed the third Monday in February.The actual date of
Washington's birthday is Feb. 22. It is a common misconception
that the federal holiday was changed to "Presidents' Day" and now
celebrates both Washington and Lincoln. Only Washington is
commemorated by the federal holiday; 13 states, however,
officially celebrate "Presidents' Day." |
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Mardi Gras (Shrove
Tuesday) (Tues., Feb. 24, 2009) Shrove Tuesday falls the day
before Ash Wednesday and
marks the end of the carnival season, which once began on Epiphany
but is now usually celebrated the last three days before Lent. In
France, the day is known as Mardi
Gras (Fat Tuesday), and celebrations are held in several
American cities, particularly New Orleans. The day is sometimes
called Pancake Tuesday by the English because fats, which were
prohibited during Lent,
had to be used up. |
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The seventh Wednesday before Easter and the first
day of Lent, which lasts
40 days. Having its origin sometime before A.D. 1000, it is a day
of public penance and is marked in the Roman Catholic Church by
the burning of the palms blessed on the previous year's Palm
Sunday. With the ashes from the palms the priest then marks a
cross with his thumb upon the forehead of each worshipper. The
Anglican Church and a few Protestant groups in the United States
also observe the day, but generally without the use of ashes.
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March |
St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland,
has been honored in America since the first days of the nation.
Perhaps the most notable observance is the annual St. Patrick's
Day parade in New York City. |
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This holiday
celebrates the birthday of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. It is
fixed as the 12th day of the month of Rabi I in the Islamic
calendar. |
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Purim (Feast of Lots)
(Tues., March 10, 2009)* A day of joy and
feasting celebrating the deliverance of the Jews from a massacre
planned by the Persian minister Haman. According to the Book of
Esther, the Jewish queen Esther interceded with her husband, King
Ahasuerus, to spare the life of her uncle, Mordecai, and Haman was
hanged on the same gallows he had built for Mordecai. The holiday
is marked by the reading of the Book of Esther (the Megillah), by
the exchange of gifts, and by donations to the poor. |
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April |
The origins of April Fool's Day are
uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the
seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new
calendar. |
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Observed the Sunday before Easter to commemorate the
entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. |
Passover (Pesach)
(Thurs., April 9, 2009)* The Feast of the
Passover, also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, commemorates
the escape of the Jews from Egypt. As the Jews fled, they ate
unleavened bread, and from that time the Jews have allowed no
leavening in their houses during Passover, bread being replaced by
matzoh. |
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The Friday before Easter, it commemorates the
Crucifixion, which is retold during services from the Gospel
according to St. John. A feature in Roman Catholic churches is the
Liturgy of the Passion; there is no Consecration, the Host having
been consecrated the previous day. The eating of hot-cross buns on
this day is said to have started in England. |
Easter (Sun., April 12, 2009) Observed in
all Western Christian churches, Easter commemorates the
Resurrection of Jesus. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after
the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox
(fixed at March 21) and is therefore celebrated between March 22
and April 25 inclusive. This date was fixed by the Council of
Nicaea in A.D. 325. |
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Orthodox Easter (Pascha) (Sun., April 19,
2009) The Orthodox church uses the same formula to
calculate Easter as the Western church, but bases it on the
traditional Julian calendar instead of the more contemporary
Gregorian calendar. For this reason Orthodox Easter generally
falls on a different date than the Western Christian Easter. In
2008, for example, Easter was celebrated on March 23 by Western
churches and April 27 by Orthodox churches, but in 2007, the two
celebrations coincided on the same date. |
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May |
May Day (Fri., May 1,
2009) Although celebrated with far greater fanfare in
other countries, May Day in the United States is a celebration of
Spring as well as a day honoring organized labor. |
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The Ascension of Jesus took place in the presence of
his apostles 40 days after the Resurrection. It is traditionally
thought to have occurred on Mount Olivet in Bethany. |
Cinco de Mayo is often referred to as
Mexico's Independence Day, but actually marks the 1862 battle in
Puebla when a small, outnumbered Mexican army defeated the French,
a turning point in Mexico's struggle for independence. Ironically,
it is a holiday that is in fact more beloved by Americans than by
Mexicans. |
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VE-Day (Fri., May 8, 2009) VE-DAY marks formal celebration of the
Allies' victory in Europe during World War II. |
Observed the second Sunday in May, as
proposed by Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia in 1907. West Virginia was
the first state to recognize the holiday in 1910, and President
Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed Mother's Day a national
holiday in 1914. |
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Memorial Day became a federal holiday
in 1971 and is observed on the last Monday in May. It originated
in 1868, when Union General John A. Logan designated a day in
which the graves of Civil War soldiers would be decorated.
Originally known as Decoration Day, the holiday was changed to
Memorial Day within 20 years, becoming a holiday dedicated to the
memory of all war dead. |
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Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) (Fri., May 29, 2009)* This
festival, sometimes called the Feast of Weeks, or of Harvest, or
of the First Fruits, falls 50 days after Passover and originally
celebrated the end of the seven-week grain-harvesting season. In
later tradition, it also celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses
on Mount Sinai. |
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Pentecost (Whitsunday)
(Sun., May 31, 2009) This day commemorates the descent of
the Holy Ghost upon the apostles 50 days after the Resurrection.
"Whitsunday" is believed to have come from "white Sunday," when,
among the English, white robes were worn by those baptized on the
day. |
June |
Flag Day (Sun., June 14, 2009) This day commemorates the adoption
by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777, of the Stars and
Stripes as the U.S. flag. Although it is a legal holiday only in
Pennsylvania, President Truman, on Aug. 3, 1949, signed a bill
requesting the president to call for its observance each year by
proclamation. |
Observed the third Sunday in June.
The exact origin of the holiday is not clear, but it was first
celebrated June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Wash. In 1966 President
Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation making Father's Day official.
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July |
The day of the adoption of the
Declaration of Independence in 1776, celebrated in all states and
territories. The observance began the next year in Philadelphia.
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August |
This day marks the
beginning of a month-long fast that all Muslims must keep during
the daylight hours. It commemorates the first revelation of the
Qur'an. Following the last day of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr is
celebrated on Monday, September 21, in 2009. |
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September |
Labor Day (Tues., Sept.
1, 2009) A federal holiday observed the first Monday in
September. Labor Day was first celebrated in New York in 1882
under the sponsorship of the Central Labor Union, following the
suggestion of Peter J. McGuire, of the Knights of Labor, that the
day be set aside in honor of labor. |
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Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) (Friday, Sept. 18, 2009)* This
day marks the beginning of the Jewish year 5769 and opens the Ten
Days of Penitence, which close with Yom Kippur. |
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October |
Yom Kippur (Day of
Atonement) (Sunday, September 27, 2009)* This day
marks the end of the Ten Days of Penitence that began with Rosh
Hashanah. It is described in Leviticus as a "Sabbath of rest," and
synagogue services begin the preceding sundown, resume the
following morning, and continue to sundown. |
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A federal holiday observed the
second Monday in October, it commemorates Christopher Columbus's
landing in the New World in 1492. Quite likely the first
celebration of Columbus Day was that organized in 1792 by the
Society of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, widely known as
Tammany Hall. |
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Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) (Sat.,
Oct. 3, 2009)* This festival, also known as
the Feast of the Ingathering, is both a harvest festival and a
commemoration of the forty years of wandering after the Jews were
freed from Egypt. The name refers to the small huts Jews live in
during the festival, symbolic of the shelters used during their
wandering. Some say that they also represent the huts used by
workers during the annual fruit harvest. |
Shemini Atzeret (Assembly of the
Eighth Day) (Fri., Oct. 9., 2009)* This
joyous holiday, encompassing Simchat Torah (Rejoicing in the
Torah), falls immediately after the seven days of Sukkot. It marks
the end of the year's weekly readings of the Torah (Five Books of
Moses) in the synagogue, and the beginning of the new cycle of
reading. |
Diwali (Sat., Oct.
17, 2009) Diwali, the Hindu "festival of lights," is the
best known of Hindu festivals. Diwali generally lasts for five
days, beginning on the 14th day of the dark half of the Hindu
calendar month of Asvina. It is celebrated throughout India and
its diaspora. |
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Halloween (Sat.,
Oct. 31, 2009) Eve of All Saints' Day, formerly called All
Hallows and Hallowmass. Halloween is traditionally associated in
some countries with customs such as bonfires, masquerading, and
the telling of ghost stories. These are old Celtic practices
marking the beginning of winter. |
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November |
A Roman Catholic and Anglican holiday celebrating
all saints, known and unknown. |
Since 1845, by act of Congress, the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November is the date for
choosing presidential electors. State elections are also generally
held on this day. The date is a legal holiday in certain states.
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Armistice Day, a federal holiday,
was established in 1926 to commemorate the signing in 1918 of the
armistice ending World War I. On June 1, 1954, the name was
changed to Veterans Day to honor all men and women who have served
America in its armed forces. |
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A federal holiday observed the
fourth Thursday in November by act of Congress (1941), it was the
first such national proclamation issued by President Lincoln in
1863, on the urging of Mrs. Sarah J. Hale, editor of Godey's
Lady's Book. Most Americans believe that the holiday dates back to
the day of thanks ordered by Governor Bradford of Plymouth Colony
in New England in 1621, but scholars point out that days of thanks
stem from ancient times. |
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Advent is the season in
which the faithful must prepare themselves for the coming, or
advent, of the Savior on Christmas. The four Sundays before
Christmas are marked by special church services. |
December |
Eid
al-Adha (Tues., Dec. 9, 2008)* Eid al-Adha,
or the Feast of Sacrifice, commemorates Abraham's willingness to
obey God by sacrificing his son. Lasting for three days, it
concludes the annual Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims
worldwide sacrifice a lamb or other animal and distribute the meat
to relatives or the needy. |
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Muharram (Fri., Dec. 18, 2009)* The month of Muharram
marks the beginning of the Islamic liturgical year, and is
celebrated in a relatively quiet manner. |
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Hanukkah (Festival of
Lights) (Mon., Dec. 22, 2008)* This festival
was instituted by Judas Maccabaeus in 165 B.C. to celebrate the
purification of the Temple of Jerusalem. It had been desecrated
three years earlier by Antiochus Epiphanes, who set up a pagan
altar and offered sacrifices to Zeus Olympius. In Jewish homes, a
lamp or candle is lighted on each night of the eight-day festival.
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Christmas (Feast of the Nativity) (Thurs., Dec.
25, 2008) The most widely celebrated holiday of the
Christian year, Christmas is observed as the anniversary of the
birth of Jesus. Christmas customs are centuries old. The
mistletoe, for example, comes from the Druids, who, in hanging the
mistletoe, hoped for peace and good fortune. Comparatively recent
is the Christmas tree, first set up in Germany in the 17th
century. Colonial Manhattan Islanders introduced the name Santa
Claus, a corruption of the Dutch name St. Nicholas, who lived in
fourth-century Asia Minor. |
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Kwanzaa (Fri., Dec.
26, 2008) This secular seven-day holiday was created by
Black Studies professor Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966 in the U.S.,
to reaffirm African values and serve as a communal celebration
among African peoples in the diaspora. Modeled on first-fruits
celebrations, it reflects seven principles, the Nguzo Saba: unity,
self-determination, collective work and responsibility,
cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. |
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New Year's Eve, Dec. 31 (See New Year's Day above.) |
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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