HOLIDAYS IN THE USA

Read about some of US holidays. Do we have similar celebrations in Ukraine? Point out the differences.

While reading, make a “holiday calendar” noting the date, the background and the meaning of each holiday, traditions associated with it (special activities, presents, symbols, dishes, etc.)

George Washington’s Birthday (February 22)

Americans celebrated Washington’s birthday while he was still alive. They were grateful for a strong leader who had proved that democracy was a feasible way to govern their growing country. And, while he was alive, legends grew up about him. The most famous one says that he was so strong, he threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River. Another story says that when George Washington was young, his father gave him a hatchet. He tried to cut down a cherry tree with it. His father noticed the cuts on the tree, and asked his son how they got there. “I can not tell a lie”, George said, “I did it with my hatchet”. Perhaps George Washington had no hatchet, and perhaps there were no cherry trees where he grew up. However, Americans pass this story to their children as a lesson of honesty, and cherry pies have become a favourite food associated with Washington’s birthday. Various communities observe the holiday by staging parades and performances of events from Washington’s life. Many stores run Presidents’ Day sales to attract shoppers who have the day off from work or school.

Mother’s Day (Second Sunday in May)

On the second Sunday in May, American children of all ages treat their mothers to something special. It is the day when children, young and old, try to show how much they appreciate their mothers. The establishment of this holiday in the United States was due largely to the perseverance and love of one daughter, Anna Jarvis. When her mother died, Anna was determined to honour her. She asked the minister at her church in West Virginia to give a sermon in her mother’s memory. Anna Jarvis began writing to congressmen, asking them to set aside a day to honour mothers. In 1910, the governor of West Virginia proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day; and a year later, every state celebrated it.

On Mother’s Day morning, some American children follow the tradition of serving their mothers breakfast in bed. Other children will give their mothers gifts which they have made themselves, or bought in stores. Adults give their mothers red carnations, the official Mother’s Day flower. If their mothers are deceased, they may bring white carnations to their grave sites. This is the busiest day of the year for American restaurants. On her special day, family members do not want Mom to cook dinner!

Independence Day (July 4)

Independence Day is celebrated on July 4 because that is the day when the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The next year, in Philadelphia, bells rang and ships fired guns; candles and firecrackers were lighted. When the War of Independence was over in 1783, Independence Day was made an official holiday.

John Adams, a lawyer, the first Vice President, and the Second President of the United States, was one of the members of the Second Continental Congress who signed the Declaration of Independence. He wrote to his wife,”I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival… it ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other…”

John Adams may have predicted the later Independence Day celebrations, or perhaps he started traditions with his words. Every July 4, Americans have a holiday from work. Communities have day-long picnics with favourite foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans. The afternoon activities would not be complete without lively music, a friendly baseball game, three-legged races, and a pie-eating or watermelon-eating contests. Some cities have parades with people dressed as the original founding fathers. At dusk, people in towns and cities gather to watch the fireworks display.

At the Freedom Festival at Independence Hall in Philadelphia (where the Declaration of Independence was first read) costumed Americans re-enact historical scenes, and read the Declaration of Independence for the crowd.

In Boston thousands of people come to Boston Harbour to watch the ship U.S.S.John F.Kennedy in full sail, listen to the Boston Pops Orchestra and enjoy fireworks bursting over the water.

Thanksgiving (Fourth Thursday in November)

The American Thanksgiving holiday began as a feast of thanksgiving in the early days of the American colonies almost four hundred years ago.

In 1620, a boat filled with more than one hundred people sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in the New World. This religious group had begun to question the beliefs of the Church of England and they wanted to separate from it. The Pilgrims settled in what is now the state of Massachusetts. Their first winter in the New World was difficult; half the colony died. The following spring, the Indians taught them how to grow corn (maize), a new food for the colonists. They showed them other crops to grow in the unfamiliar soil and how to hunt and fish. In the autumn of 1621 the colonists gathered a good harvest and planned a feast. They invited the local Indians who brought deer to roast with turkeys and other wild game offered by the colonists. The colonists had learned how to cook cranberries and different kinds of corn and squash dishes from the Indians. To this first Thanksgiving, the Indians had even brought popcorn.

In the following years many of the original colonists celebrated the autumn harvest with a feast of thanks. George Washington suggested the date November 26 as Thanksgiving Day. Then in 1864, at the end of a long and bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln asked all Americans to set aside the last Thursday in November as a day of thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a time for tradition and sharing. Even if they live far away, family members gather for a reunion at the house of an older relative. All give thanks together for the good things they have. In this spirit of sharing, civic groups and charitable organizations offer a traditional meal to those in need, particularly the homeless. On most tables throughout the United States, foods eaten at the first thanksgiving have become traditional.

Christmas Day (December 25)

Christmas is a joyful religious holiday when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Immigrant settlers brought Father Christmas to the United States. Father Christmas’s name was gradually changed to Santa Claus, from the Dutch name for Father Christmas, which is Sinter Claas. Americans gave Santa Claus a white beard, dressed him in a red suit and made him a cheery old gentleman with red cheeks and a twinkle in his eye.

Christmas has been associated with gift giving since the Wise Men brought gifts to welcome the newborn Jesus Christ. Long ago, each child hung a stocking, or sock, over the fireplace. Santa Claus entered down the chimney and left candy and presents inside the socks. Today the tradition is carried on, but the socks are now large red sock-shaped fabric bags still called stockings. Each child can’t wait to open his or her eyes to see what Santa has left for them. In recent years, however, more and more people have complained that Christmas is too “commercialized”, especially in large cities.

During the holiday season, special Christmas songs, or carols, are sung and heard everywhere. “Jingle Bells” is one of the first Christmas songs that American children learn.

Another important custom of Christmas is to send and receive Christmas cards, which are meant to help express the sentiment of the season. Americans begin sending Christmas cards early in December to friends, acquaintences, and co-workers.

Going home for Christmas is a most cherished tradition. No matter where you may be the rest of the year, being home with your family and friends for Christmas is “a must”. When Christmas is coming, all America seems to be on the move. This means that the house will be full of cousins, aunts and uncles that might not see each other during the year. Everyone joins in to help in the preparation of the festivities. Some family members go to choose a Christmas tree to buy and bring home. Others decorate the house or wrap presents. And of course, each household needs to make lots of food!

On Christmas Eve, there are evening church services which people attend. On Christmas Day families make rounds to to visit friends and relatives.

The Christmas table looks much like a Thanksgiving feast of turkey and ham, potatoes and pie. No Christmas is complete without lots of desserts, and nothing symbolizes Christmas more than baked breads and cookies hot from the oven. Many American traditional desserts were started long ago in other parts of the world. For example, in many American-Ukrainian families doughnuts are a holiday offering on Christmas.

Easter (A Sunday in March or April)

The word “Easter” is named after Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A festival in her honour was held every year at the vernal equinox.

People celebrate the holiday according to their beliefs and their religious denominations. Christians commemorate Good Friday as the day that Jesus Christ died and Easter Sunday as the day that He was resurrected. Protestant settlers brought the custom of a sunrise service, a religious gathering at dawn, to the United States.

Today on Easter Sunday, children wake up to find that the Easter Bunny has left them baskets of candy. He has also hidden the eggs that they decorated earlier that week. Children hunt for eggs all around the house. Neighbourhoods and organizations hold Easter egg hunts, and the child who finds the most egs wins a prize.

The Easter Bunny is a rabbit-spirit. Long ago he was called the “Easter Hare”. Hares and rabbits have frequent multiple births, so they became a symbol of fertility. The custom of an Easter egg hunt began because children believed that hares laid eggs in the grass. Christians consider eggs to be “the seed of life” and so they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Egg rolling takes place on the White House lawn in Washington D.C. The wife of the President sponsors the event for the children twelve years old and under.

The famous Easter parade goes along Fifth Avenue in New York City.

St.Valentine’s Day (February 14)

St. Valentine’s Day has roots in several different legends. According to one of them, three hundred years after the death of Jesus Christ, Valentine, a Christian priest in Rome was thrown in prison for his teachings.On February 14, Valentine was beheaded, not only because he was a Christian, but also because he had performed a miracle. He supposedly cured the jailer’s daughter of her blindness. The night before he was executed, he wrote the jailer’s daughter a farewell letter, signing it, “From Your Valentine”. Another legend tells us about Valentine who was an Italian bishop at about the same time. He was imprisoned because he secretly married couples, contrary to the law of the Roman emperor.Some legends say he was burned at the stake.

February 14 was also a Roman holiday. Young men randomly chose the name of a girl to escort to the festivities. The custom of choosing a sweetheart on this date spread through Europe in the Middle Ages, and then to the early American colonies.

Now St.Valentine’s Day is a day for sweethearts. It is the day when you show your friend or loved one that you care. You can send candy to someone you think is special. Or you can send roses, the flower of love. Most people send “valentines”, greeting cards with words of friendship and love. If the sender is shy, valentines can be anonymous. Valentines can be heart-shaped or have hearts, the symbol of love, on them.

Halloween (October 31)

On October 31, dozens of children knock on their neighbours’ 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 tasty things that the neighbours drop in.

November 1^st is a religious holiday known as All Saints’ Day (or formerly, All Hallows’ Day). The day before the holy day is known as All Hallows’ Eve. The word “Halloween” comes from that form. The origins of Halloween lie in both pre-Christian and Christian customs. October 31 was the eve of the Celtic new year. The Celts believed that on this day ghosts walked among the living.

Today, Halloween school dances and neighbourhood parties are popular among young and old alike. More and more adults celebrate Halloween. They dress up like historical or political figures and go to masquerade parties. Teenagers enjoy costume discos, and the more outrageous the costume the better! At Halloween parties children play traditional games. One of the most popular is called pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. One child is blindfolded and spun slowly so that he or she will become dizzy. Then the child must find a paper donkey hanging on the wall and try to pin a tail onto the back. Another game is bobbing for apples. One child at a time has to get apples from a tub of water without using hands! How? By sinking his or her face into the water and biting the apple!

Halloween originated as a celebration connected with evil spirits. Witches, ghosts, goblins and skeletons are all symbols of the day. Black is one of the traditional Halloween colours, probably because Halloween festivals and traditions took place at night. In the weeks before October 31, Americans decorate windows of houses and schools with silhouettes of witches and black cats.

Pumpkins are also a symbol of Halloween. Carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns is a well-known Halloween custom.

And, of course, no Halloween party is complete without scary stories.