USA Holidays
Everyone loves a holiday. Americans are the same. We have our traditional holidays that mean a lot to us. We have other holidays that were imposed by the government.
This lens features all the United States holidays, and tells how they came to be.
New Years Day
January 1st
Happy New Year! Every year!
This first-day-of-the-year tradition celebrates the beginning of the Gregorian calendar year.
On this day Americans love to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve, while partying with friends. At the stroke of midnight they burst into celebration, kissing strangers, yelling, jumping up and down, clanging pans together, setting off fireworks, and in some countrified areas, shooting off their guns. Anything to let the world know that the new year has suddenly arrived.
This is considered the end of the "Holiday Season" that includes traditional holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah.
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr
Third Monday in January
The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., renowned civil rights leader, was born on January 15, 1929. After his untimely death the American politicians agreed to suggestions requesting that his birthday become a perpetual day of commemoration. This day brings attention to the civil rights movement and the need for all Americans to discard prejudices and work together in harmony.
Inauguration Day
January 20, every fourth year, following Presidential election
Observed only by federal government employees in Washington D.C., and the border counties of Maryland and Virginia, in order to relieve congestion that occurs with this major event. Swearing-in of President of the United States and Vice President of the United States. Celebrated every fourth year. Note: Takes place on January 21 if the 20th is a Sunday (although the President is still privately inaugurated on the 20th). If Inauguration Day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the preceding Friday or following Monday is not a Federal Holiday Presidents' Day
Third Monday in February
Washington's Birthday was first declared a federal holiday by an 1879 act of Congress. The Uniform Holidays Act, 1968, shifted the date of the commemoration of Washington's Birthday from February 22 to the third Monday in February. Many people now refer to this holiday as "Presidents' Day" and consider it a day honoring all American presidents. However, neither the Uniform Holidays Act nor any subsequent law changed the name of the holiday from Washington's Birthday to Presidents' Day Memorial Day
Last Monday in May
Honors the nation's war dead from the Civil War onwards; marks the unofficial beginning of the summer season. (traditionally May 30, shifted by the Uniform Holidays Act 1968) Independence Day
July 4
Celebrates Declaration of Independence, also called the Fourth of July. Independence Day
![Independence Day [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51uFYbcMj-L._SL75_.jpg)
Labor Day
First Monday in September
Celebrates the achievements of workers and the labor movement; marks the unofficial end of the summer season. Columbus Day
Second Monday in October
Honors Christopher Columbus, traditional discoverer of the Americas. In some areas it is also a celebration of Italian culture and heritage. (traditionally October 12); celebrated as American Indian Heritage Day and Fraternal Day in Alabama; celebrated as Native American Day in South Dakota. In Hawaii, it is celebrated as Discoverer's Day, though is not an official state holiday. Veterans Day
November 11
Honors all veterans of the United States armed forces. A traditional observation is a moment of silence at 11 AM remembering those killed in war. (Commemorates the 1918 armistice, which began at "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.") Thanksgiving Day
Fourth Thursday in November
Traditionally, Thanksgiving celebrates the giving of thanks for the autumn harvest. Traditionally includes the consumption of a turkey dinner. This is the traditional start of the "holiday season." (Note: Thanksgiving is not celebrated on the same day in Canada). People enjoying Thanks giving day
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Thanksgiving 2000
Christmas Day
December 25
Christmas is a magical time of year. It started as a celebration of the Nativity of Jesus, but has become more of a national holiday for people of all beliefs. Some people consider aspects of this religious holiday, such as giving gifts and decorating a Christmas tree, to be secular rather than explicitly Christian. (Christmas Day is December 25, 2009)
Christmas Stuff
United States Holidays
We want to hear from you?
What is your favorite day, and what do you do?
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- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Sep 3, 2008 @ 3:34 am
- Nice Lens!
You highlighted all the major holidays. I remember when they changed Washington's Birthday and Lincoln's Birthday to President's Day. I had never heard of Uniform Holidays. I do remember that it had a lot to do with making it easier for workers to take three day holidays and of course to turn it into an opportunity for retailers and the holtel industry to make money. In my family we still celebrate the two seperate presidents birthday's in order to keep them less commercialized.
Our favorite holiday, however, is the Wardsboro 4th of July Celebration in Vermont.
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