American Holidays

L I D A Y S

and parties and fun. A time of fireworks, a time

for resolutions, realizations, and a brand new year.

Each year huge crowds of people celebrate New Year’s Eve in New York City’s Times Square.

of the southern states of the USA. The most famous

celebration takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is celebrated with masquerade balls, King Cakes, and parades.

This year Mardi Gras is celebrated on February 24
( 2009)

Carnival parades through the streets of New Orleans begin 12 days before Mardi Gras Day.

Did you know that Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday”?

love and romance, marked by giving red roses and chocolate

hearts or by sending valentines.

traditional feast holiday of praise and thanksgiving for missionaries in

Ireland.
Saint Patrick was born to Scottish parents in Roman Britain in approximately 385 CE. As a teenager, he was captured by Druid raiders and sold into slavery in Ireland - then a pagan land ruled by the Druids.
In 433, Patrick is said to have returned to Ireland, this time sent by Pope Celestine, to teach gospel to the Irish people.

Kiss me, I am Irish!

Legend tells that Patrick used the shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity, with each leaf representing one of the triad. To this day, the shamrock is an image associated with Saint Patrick and has become the unofficial symbol of St. Patty's Day.

welcome back the Tulips, the Crocuses and the Daffodils. Its

a time of new suits, new dresses and patent leather shoes. A time for Christians to celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Christ. And a time of chocolate bunnies and colored eggs!

Traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.

Mom. It is a time of breakfast in bed, family

gatherings, and crayon scribbled "I Love You's."During the 17th century, those living on the British isles initiated a religious celebration of motherhood, called Mothering Sunday, which was held on the forth Sunday during the Lenten season.

When is Mother's Day?
Mother’s Day is celebrated by Americans on the second Sunday in May. Mothering Sunday in the UK is celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent.

M - O - T - H - E - R
"M" is for the million things she gave me,
"O" means only that she's growing old,
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,
"H" is for her heart of purest gold;
"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right she'll always be,
Put them all together, they spell
"MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.
Howard Johnson (c. 1915)

in June.
Father's Day is a day of commemoration and celebration

of Dad. It is a day to not only honor your father, but all men who have acted as a father figure in your life - whether as Stepfathers, Uncles, Grandfathers, or "Big Brothers."

of America commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence

by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

back thousands of years.
Halloween is celebrated annually on October 31.
Trick

or treat, Smell my feet Give me something good to eat !!!

most well known.
The first Thanksgiving took place in December 1621,

when the Pilgrims held a three-day feast in Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts to celebrate their bountiful harvest.

Since then it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.

24th
Christmas Traditions:

The Christmas Tree
The Christmas Stockings
The Christmas Cards
There are as

many Christmas traditions as there are families that celebrate this festive Christian winter holiday.