American holidays

The holiday originated with a surprising battle. In 1861, France, England and Spain sent ships to Mexico to settle a debt. Within a few months, an agreement was reached and the British and Spanish navy set sail toward home. But the French ships, by order of Napoleon III, began an attack. On May 5, 1862, 6000 soldiers under the commander of the French forces tried to capture the forts of Loreto and

Guadalupe in Puebla de Los Angeles, Mexico. Two thousand Mexican men, led by General Ignazio Zaragoza, fought back hard and held the fort. Although smaller in number, the Mexican army won this battle but they did not win the war. The French conquered the country, and in 1864, a European emperor was put on the Mexican throne. Three years later, after a reign filled with problems, the emperor was deposed and killed.

Even during the short period of French rule, the Mexicans celebrated Cinco de Mayo. They changed the name of the town where the French were defeated to Puebla de Zaragoza.

Today Americans participate in activities organized for "Cinco de Mayo." In Los Angeles, the celebration takes place in the streets outside City Hall where Mexican orchestras and local bands play Mexican patriotic songs. The streets are colored in red, white and green - the colors of the Mexican flag. Young boys are proud to be seen in Mexican clothing and girls wear red and green ruffled dresses with wide skirts. Famous musicians play popular and familiar tunes on their guitars while dancers spin around and click their castanets.

A temporary stage at the steps of City Hall is decorated with a picture of General Zaragoza, flanked by Mexican and American flags. Mexican dignitaries are guests of honor, pleased to hear the mayor of Los Angeles making a speech in Spanish. Later, celebrants stroll through the streets to the old section of the city. Others go to city parks where sports events, dances and picnics featuring Mexican food are taking place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Food, health and environmental holidays

In addition to the standard holidays that are associated with food, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and the Fourth of July, there are now hundreds of national food days. In fact, each and every day of the year has been designated as a holiday for at least one food, and often there are actually multiple food holidays on the same day.

Food commemoration days in the United States are designated by the President of the United States or the U.S. Senate. Petitions that request a specific day be designated as celebrating a certain cause, event or food may be submitted by public relations firms, trade associations or others who have a special interest. Currently, there are many days called national food holidays, but most of these have not been recognized by Congress.

After December and the end-of-the-year holiday season, many find the month of January to be rather boring; however, there are plenty of reasons to celebrate during January. There are such holidays as New Year's Day, National Apple Gifting Day, National Cream Puff Day, National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day, National Spaghetti Day, National Whipped Cream Day, National Shortbread Day, National Bean Day, National Tempura Day, National Fruitcake Toss Day, National English Toffee Day, National Apricot Day, National Bittersweet Chocolate Day and others.

There are a number of weeklong holidays and celebrations including, National Pizza Week in the second week, and two observances in the fourth week, National Meat Week and National Irish Coffee Week. To round out the month, there are also a wide variety of daily celebrations and observances ranging alphabetically from National Apricot Day to National Tempura Day.

When it comes to celebrations, most people associate February with Valentine's Day, but there are many other reasons to celebrate in the shortest month of the year. They are National Baked Alaska Day, National Heavenly Hash Day, and National Carrot Cake Day, National Homemade Soup Day, National Stuffed Mushroom Day and others.

There are also many environmental holidays. Among them: One Day of Peace and Sharing, Robinson Jeffers Day (1887-1962) - California poet and Pantheist; Aldo Leopold Day - honoring the author of A Sand County Almanac and creator of the "land ethic"; Albert Schweitzer Day - humanitarian who extolled a "reverence for life"; Edward Abbey Day  - chronicler and novelist for western Wilderness; Charles Darwin Day - celebrated theorist of evolution; Ansel Adams Day - recognizing the great photographer and conservationist; Howard Clinton Zahniser - father of the Wilderness Act of 1964;First National Park established – Yellowstone; International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers, Water and Life; Arbor Day - this major tree planting holiday is celebrated on dates determined by the best tree planting times in each state or nation - e.g. March 7 in California, April 22 in Nebraska; William Wordsworth Day; John Muir Day - father of American National Parks, wilderness explorer, naturalist, conservationist, and co-founder of the Sierra Club; Earth Day - first celebrated in 1970;  National Bird Day - a celebration of the birthday of the artist famous for his paintings of birds, John James Audubon born in 1785; Australian National Threatened Species Day - highlights the plight of Australia's threatened species and ecological communities. September 7 is the date that the last Tasmanian tiger died in captivity in 1936; National Estuaries Day; Winter Solstice - First Day of Winter triggering many ancient and modern seasonal traditions from bonfires to gift-giving and solar rites celebrating the return of the sun and longer days.

Health observances are special days, weeks or months designated by government, health organizations and medical professionals devoted to promoting specific health topics. For 2010, there are over 175 national health observances. They are Activity Professionals, Administrative Professionals, Adoption, Adult Immunization, Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery, Alcohol and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects, Allied Health, Better Hearing and Speech, Better Sleep, Bike Month, Bike to Work, Birth Defects Prevention, Bone and Joint, Buckle Up America, Burn Awareness, Brain Aneurysm Awareness, Cancer Survivor's, Candlelight Vigil for Eating Disorders Awareness, Cardiac Rehab, Cardiovascular Professionals, Career Nurse Assistants, Disability Employment Awareness, and many other observations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

The aim of this work was to give the full characteristic of different American holidays.

What concerns the tasks of the work, they were as follows:

1. to describe the most great and famous holidays in America;
2. to deal with the questions concerning the background of these holidays;
3. to explore the traditions of celebrating different holidays;
4. to generalize all the given facts.

During the discovering of the tasks of the work it was established that holidays are important aspects to the American people. Through research, it was learned that most Americans enjoy their national holidays. Americans love the feast for Thanksgiving, the barbeques for Independence Day, and the fun and candy from Halloween. Americans also value the time off from work that most holidays provide. It is important to many people to have this time off to rest and spend with family. It is discovered that holidays take place all year long. No matter what the climate is the holidays are scattered throughout the calendar year. Thanksgiving is in November, President’s Day in February, Memorial Day in May, and Labor Day in September. Holidays include celebrations, parades, and parties. These activities make holidays fun for all Americans. These celebrations make holidays more than just a day off from work or school. Finally, holidays are generally celebrated by Americans no matter their race, gender, religion, age or culture. For example New Years Day is not just a holiday for white, Jewish males; it is a holiday for everyone. It is important that people are not racist when it comes to celebrating holidays. Holidays help to make America what America is. They play a big role in the lives of all American citizens.

In this work these are only a small representation of the hundreds of holidays and celebrations observed throughout the United States. Each state has its own individual history and people, and the right to celebrate its own tradition.

With its rich and culturally diverse background each of the American holidays takes on a unique style and personality. Whether it is celebrated the holidays in a traditional style or made somebody’s own traditions, there is so much enjoyment to be found for the whole family in all of the American holidays.

Holidays in America are filled with loads of family enjoyment. Each holiday has certain traditions that are enjoyed by the whole family. Holidays like Christmas is an event that everyone loves. Parents, because this is a time when the whole family gets together and enjoys a sumptuous meal. The children love Christmas because of Santa Claus and all the presents that they will get.

Even though Christmas is a Christian religious holiday it is celebrated by non Christians as well because the religious context of Christian holidays has been removed. So even though Christian holidays are important to the Christian community, many other people enjoy celebrating those holidays purely for the spirit of enjoyment.

The Fourth of July holiday is another great American holiday. On this day families get together and spend their time having fun. They also prepare picnic style meals and have a barbeque while they wait for the Fourth of July Fireworks. This stunning display lights up the night sky as many families light the firecrackers that they have bought for this occasion.

There are many other American holidays that can be found to enjoyable. Like Halloween where people both young and old dress in various costumes and have fun at night. Children love this holiday because they get to wear fancy costumes, go out with friends or a family member and collect lots of sweets. They also love watching the scary television programs that air for this particular night.

Thanksgiving is an American holiday that is celebrated with great gusto as well. Here the main item of the day is the carefully oven roasted turkey that will be the centerpiece of the dinner table. Families and friends will gather and not only enjoy the whole meal but after the meal they will watch the seasonal Thanksgiving NFL football games, play games in the garden or the house, talk amongst themselves and generally enjoy each other's company.