HOLIDAYS IN THE USA

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porogramme can be used during English lessons in gymnasium or in a high school while talking about the American holidays and culture.
This presentation can also be used as a source of information for students who individually want to widen their knowledge about American holidays and culture.
The programme consists of 38 slides in English that are divided into 5 thematic chapters.
1.Introduction
2.National holidays
3.Religious holidays
4.Fun days
5.Ethnic and regional holidays
The last part of the programme is Revision of the most important issues in form of questions.

regional holidays
6) Revision

literally means "holy day," most American holidays are not religious,

but commemorative in nature and origin. Because the nation is blessed with rich ethnic heritage it is possible to trace some of the American holidays to diverse cultural sources and traditions, but all holidays have taken on a distinctively American flavor.
In the United States, the word "holiday" is synonymous with "celebration! "

and neighbors. There is plenty to eat and drink when

you just drop in to wish your loved ones and friends the best for the year ahead. Many families and friends watch television together enjoying the Tournament of Roses parade preceding the Rose Bowl football game in Pasadena California.

In the warmer regions all around the country there are other games whose names are characteristic of the state. People watch the Orange Bowl game in Florida, the Cotton Bowl in Texas, and the Sugar Bowl in Louisiana. In most cultures, people promise to better themselves in the following year. Americans have inherited the tradition and even write down their New Year's resolutions. Whatever the resolution, most of them are broken or forgotten by February!

a dream...
I have a dream that one day little black

boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers
I have a dream today"

It is a time for the nation to remember the injustices that Dr. King fought. A time to remember his fight for the freedom, equality, and dignity of all races and peoples. A time to remember the message of change through nonviolence.

our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. The holiday

is celebrated in the United States on the third Monday in February.

George Washington
Born : February 22, 1732 at
Wakefield, Westmoreland, Virginia
Died: December 14, 1799 at
Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Virginia
President: April 30,1789
to March 4, 1797

Abraham Lincoln
Born: February 12, 1809 in
Hardin (now Larue) County, Kentucky
Died: April 15, 1865 in
Washington, District of Columbia
President: March 4th, 1861
to April 15, 1865

are encouraged to plant and care for trees. Arbor Day

originated in Nebraska City, Nebraska, United States but is also celebrated by several other countries

The national holiday is celebrated every year on the last Friday in April; it is a civic holiday in Nebraska. Each state celebrates its own state holiday.

was loosely inspired by the British day and was imported

by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War. However, it was intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation.

The first Mother's Day was celebrated on 10 May, 1908. It continues to this day to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions. Mother's Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States.

remember the U.S. men and woman who lost their lives

serving their country. Originally known as Decoration Day, it was established in 1868 to commemorate the dead from the Civil War. Over the years it came to serve as a day to remember all U.S. men and women killed or missing in action in all wars.

It has become both, a National Decoration Day of family graves, and the holiday that opens the summer season. It is celebrated with backyard barbecues, outdoor picnics, and parades.

to celebrate and show respect for the flag, its designers

and makers. The flag is representative of the independence and unity as a nation.....one nation, under God, indivisible. The flag has a proud and glorious history. It was at the lead of every battle fought by Americans. Many people have died protecting it.

the few countries in the world that has an official

day on which fathers are honored by their children. On the third Sunday in June, fathers all across the United States are given presents, treated to dinner or otherwise made to feel special. .

The origin of Father's Day is not clear. Some say that it began with a church service in West Virginia in 1908. Others say the first Father's Day ceremony was held in Vancouver, Washington.

States of America. Founded July 4th 1776, with the signing

of the Declaration of Independence.

The 4th of July is a time for the Red White and Blue. It's a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks, and a reason to fly the American flag.

holiday
that is over 100 years old.

Over the years,
it has evolved from a purely labor union
celebration into a general "last fling of summer" festival.

It grew out of a celebration and parade in honor of the working class by the Knights of Labor in 1882 in New York.
It has come to be recognized in the U.S. not only as a celebration of the working class, but even more so as the unofficial end of the summer season. In the northern half of the U.S. at least, the summer vacation season begins with Memorial Day and ends with Labor Day.

United States to honor Christopher Columbus's first voyage to America

in 1492.

It was Colorado, in 1905, that became the first state to observe a Columbus Day. Since 1920 the day has been celebrated annually, and in 1937 President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed every October 12 as Columbus Day. That's where it remained until 1971 when Congress declared it a federal public holiday on the second Monday in October.

holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a

state holiday in all states, it is celebrated on the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I.

Veterans Day is largely intended to thank living veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served - not only those who died - have sacrificed and done their duty.

celebrated with lot of enthusiasm in US, Canada and several

other countries. It is festival commemorates the feast held by the Pilgrim colonists and members of the Wampanoag people at Plymouth in 1621. On this day people express gratitude to God for his blessings and give thanks to dear ones for their love & support. Feasting with family is an integral & most delightful part of Thanksgiving Day celebrations.

for
Christians, who attend special church services to

celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

Since most Americans are Christian, the day is one on which most businesses are closed and the greatest possible number of workers, including government employees, have the day off. Many places even close early on the day before.

in USA with traditional fervor and gaiety.
Sunday church services and

festive celebrations
blend together during the Easter weekend.
On Easter Sunday in New York and other cities,
large Easter parades are held where people turn out
in their fashionable outfits and trendy Easter bonnets.
The person leading the parade holds
Easter candle or cross in his hand.

dyed were introduced to American
folklore by the German settlers

who arrived in
the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s.


A special dish for Easter springtime in USA is baked
ham, potatoes and vegetables. Another most demanding
recipe is hot cross buns.

lovers express their love for each other; sending Valentine's cards

or candy. It is very common to present flowers on Valentine's Day.

The holiday is named after two men, both Christian martyrs among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine.

The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

and strangers on the first of April.
One common trick

on April Fool's Day, or All Fool's Day, is pointing down to a friend's shoe and saying, "Your shoelace is untied."

Whatever the trick, if the innocent victim falls for the joke the prankster yells, "April Fool! "

knock on their neighbors' doors and yell, "Trick or Treat"

when the door opens.
Pirates and princesses, ghosts and popular heroes of the day all hold bags open to catch the candy or other goodies that the neighbors drop in.
As they give each child a treat the neighbors exclaim over the costumes and try to guess who is under the masks.

was no longer the last day of the year, Halloween

became a celebration mostly for children.
"Ghosts" went from door to door asking for treats, or else a trick would be played on the owners of the house.
When millions of Irish people immigrated to the United States in the 1840s the tradition came with them.

immigrated to the United States have come from Ireland. More

than one-half of the soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War had Irish ancestors. Today, it is said, Irish descendants in the United States put on a noisier and bigger St. Patrick's Day celebration than the people in Ireland.

Every year on March 17 or the preceding
Saturday, cities with a large population
of Irish Americans have parades.
Green is one of the national colors
of Ireland and also one of the signs of spring

for "ceremony", but the word holds a different meaning according

to each native American Indian tribe.

Pow-wows mean different things to different people. The ceremony have changed with the times. Now instead of giving thanks to their gods for a war victory, Indians honor those of their tribes who have served in the American armed forces.