The 3rd Monday of January Martin Luther King’s Day

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. His father was a minister of the Baptist Church. When growing up, Martin noticed that “black” people and white people were treated differently. Eventually, he decided to become a minister. He also became the leader of the civil rights movement. As inspired by Henry Thoreau’s famous essay “Civil Disobedience”, he stated that peaceful revolution would be brought about if people follow their conscience and disobey unjust laws. Throughout his life, Dr. King never stopped his enthusiasm to speak out for the unprivileged. He was also involved in the antiwar movement. In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed. As a remembrance of the great African American leader, the U.S. then established the observance of Martin Luther King’s Day.

February 14th Valentine’s Day

In 270 AD, Emperor Claudius II, also known as Claudius the Cruel, was having difficulty in recruiting men as soldiers. He believed that the men didn’t want to leave their lovers for the battlefield, so he ordered all engagements and marriages to be cancelled throughout Rome. As a Roman Priest, St Valentine secretly married couples. Unfortunately, his secret was eventually exposed. St Valentine was condemned and beaten to death on Feb 14th. Since then, the ancient Romans started to have St Valentine’s Day, which is not only a day for lovers to celebrate but also a day to commemorate St Valentine.

March 17th St Patrick’s Day

St Patrick’s day is a sacred day commemorated by many Christian denominations, especially those in Ireland, where he was the official saint of the Church of Ireland. Today, people go to sacred wells or mountains, and places named in his honor throughout the year. Saint Patrick was born in 387 AD. At age 16, he was kidnapped and sold into Ireland as a slave. After 6 years of captivity, he escaped to Great Britain and traveled to study in St. Martin’s monastery in France. In 432 A.D., he went on a mission to Ireland and successfully converted the island from Druidism to Christianity. The exact date of the death of St Patrick is disputed, but most people believed it was either March 8th or March 9th; consequently, they added them together and announced March17th as the official St Patrick’s day.

A swinging holiday Easter

Easter is the most joyous Christian festival. It commemorates the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In 325 AD, Constantine decided that Easter should be observed on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. Therefore, Easter normally falls on any day between March 22nd and April 25th. The ancient Christians had a custom that they refrained themselves from eating eggs during the period of Lent (the 40 days before Easter). Therefore, eggs were often eaten on the Sunday morning after Lent. The egg was also a symbol of fertility and new life. The tradition of coloring eggs comes from the ancient Egyptians and Persians, who colored eggs to denote the sunlight of the spring during their spring festivals. As time goes by, many customs and traditions, e.g. hare, lily and chicks, have also been associated with Easter.

The 2nd Sunday of May Mother’s Day

The celebration of Mother’s Day was brought in by Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) of Philadelphia, Pa. US. Her idea of having a mother’s day began as a remembrance as well as a fulfillment of the wish of her mother, who tried to establish “Mother’s Friendship Days” to comfort the Americans who suffered from the Civil War. On May 10, 1908, the first Mother’s Day was officially held at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton. The church was decorated with white carnations to represent mother’s love. After that, Andrews church began to observe Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May each year. Today, carnations have become the symbol of motherhood. Red carnations are used for the living while white carnations for the deceased.

The 3rd Sunday of June Father’s Day

There is an interesting story about the origin of Father’s Day. It is said that the celebration of Father’s day goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden when Adam received gift from his two sons, Abel and Cain. Abel gave a razor to his father while Cain gave his father a snakeskin tie. Yet, this is a story more than a truth.

July 4th Independence Day

Independence day is the most important secular holiday of the United States. It is celebrated in all the states and territories. By the middle of the 1700s, Great Britain imposed heavy taxes on the people in the New World. This event triggered people in the colony to strive for independence. On July 4, 1776, The Continental Congress declared the Fourth of July as the Independence Day, which proclaimed the discontinuation of the allegiance of the American colonies to Great Britain.

September 15th Labor Day

The holiday has a history of more than a century. The founder of Labor Day is uncertain. Some people say it was Peter J. McGuire, the leader of the Brotherhood of Carpenters while some say it was Matthew Maguire, a machinist. The first Labor Day celebration was held on Sept 15, 1882 in New York City. This event was organized by the Central Labor Union. On June 28, 1894, the Congress announced the first Monday in September as the official Labor Day holiday.

October 31st Halloween

Halloween is the evening of October 31, which is the vigil of All Saints’ Day. The origin of Halloween dates back to 2500 years ago when the ancient Celts in Ireland marked Oct. 31st as the last day of the year. At end of October, the Celts would celebrate the Samhain harvest festival, which represented the end of the year, implying the change from life to death. The Celts believed that there was a veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The veil would be the thinnest on Oct 31st. In order to avoid being hurt by bad spirits, the Celts would carve faces into potatoes and turnips and light up candles to scare away the bad spirits. They also wore ghoulish costumes to cover themselves. When the tradition spread to Rome, the Romans added nuts and apples as traditional foods and witches, black cats, and skeletons as the common figures for the occasion.

November 11th Veterans Day

Veterans Day is also called Armistice Day. It commemorates the ending of World War I on November 11, 1918. At 5:00 am on that day, Germany finally signed the truce after 4 years of war and ordered the troops to cease fire. In 1919, the US President, Woodrow Wilson issued an Armistice Day proclamation. In 1938, it became a federal holiday.

The 4th Thursday of November Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is one of the most important holidays in the U.S. Its history can date back to almost 400 years ago. In 1620, a group of British pilgrims sailed to America on the ship called the “Mayflower”, looking for a place where they could have freedom of worship. After a two month’s voyage, they finally landed at a place that is now called Plymouth, Massachusetts. Their first winter was extremely difficult because they did not have enough food. Over half of the pilgrims had died of starvation or epidemics before their first spring came. In spring, the pilgrims started sowing seeds. In the following autumn, their harvest was so abundant that they decided to choose a day to thank God. That was the first Thanksgiving Day in history. Since then, people have celebrated Thanksgiving Day every year. However, they did not have a fixed date until 1941, when the Congress declared the forth Thursday of November as the official Thanksgiving Day.

December 25th Christmas

The history of Christmas can be traced back to early Mesopotamia over 4000 years ago. Many Christmas traditions and customs originally came from the Mesopotamian celebration of the New Year. For example, the 12 days of Christmas, the yule-log, the singing carols, the giving of gifts, and the holiday feasts are all the pagan customs from the early Mesopotamians. As Christianity spread, many churches prohibited the celebration of these customs. However, the celebration was eventually converted to be the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In 350 AD, Julius I, the Bishop of Rome, declared December 25th as the observance of Christmas. Since then, people all over the world have begun to celebrate Christmas on Dec 25th.