Holidays in the United States of America

Story about eight public holidays in United States of America: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King’s Day, President’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, St.Valentine’s Day, April Fool’s Day, Halloween. Culture of celebrating of holidays as not religious.
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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF UKRAINE

M. P. DRAGOMANOV NATIONAL PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Foreign languages department

REPORT

Topic

Holidays in the United States of America

Performed by

Verteba Alexander

Kyiv- 2011

Contents

1. Introduction (Only names)

2. New Year's Day

3. Martin Luther King's Day

4. President's Day

5. Thanksgiving Day

6. Christmas

7. St.Valentine's Day

8. April Fool's Day

9. Halloween

10. Conclusion

11. References

1. Only names

People in every culture celebrate holidays. Although the word "holiday" 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 flavour. In the United States, the word "holiday" is synonymous with "celebration".

In the strict sense, there are no federal (national) holidays in the United States. Each of the 50 states has jurisdiction over its holidays. In practice, however, most states observe the federal ("legal or public ") holidays, even though the President and Congress can legally designate holidays only for federal government employees.The followingholidays per year are proclaimed by the federal government.

New Year's Day	January, 1
Martin Luther King Day	third Monday in January
Presidents' Day	third Monday in February
Memorial Day	last Monday in May
Independence Day	July, 4
Labour Day	first Monday in September
Columbus Day	second Monday in October
Veterans' Day	November, 11
Thanksgiving Day	fourth Thursday in November
Christmas Day	December, 25

In 1971, the dates of many federal holidays were officially moved to the nearest Monday by then-President Richard Nixon. There are four holidays which are not necessarily celebrated on Mondays: Thanksgiving Day, New Year's Day, Independence Day and Christmas Day. When New Year's Day, Independence Day, or Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, the next day is also a holiday. When one of these holidays falls on a Saturday, the previous day is also a holiday. Federal government offices, including the post office, are always closed on all federal holidays. Schools and businesses close on major holidays like Independence Day and Christmas Day but may not always be closed, for example, on Presidents' Day or Veterans' Day.

Critics of the proliferation of holidays point an accusing finger at greeting card manufacturers and other entrepreneurs. The critics say that "Holiday X" is simply promoted to get people to buy their wares. "Secretary's Day", or "Grandparents Day" might fall into this category.

Obviously, no effort has been made to be comprehensive in treating all holidays that Americans would possibly celebrate. Only "major" holidays, recognized if not celebrated by Americans in general, have been included here. Each unit is introduced by a reading the passage about the background of the American holiday or celebration. When relevant, a speech, song, or poem pertaining to the holiday follows. There might be a special feature about the holiday, such as regional or religious factors which make the celebration different.

Other Widely Celebrated Observances, that usually don't affect work schedules

GroundhogDay	February, 2
Lincoln'sBirthday	February, 12
Valentine'sDay	February,14
Washington'sBirthday	February,22
St. Patrick'sDay	March,17
AprilFools'sDay	April, 1
Earth Day	April, 22 (since 1970)
Administrative Assistants' Day	Wednesday of the last full week of April (that is, the Wednesday before the last Saturday in April) since 1955
Arbour Day	the last Friday in April (since 1872)
Mothers' Day	second Sunday in May
Fathers' Day	third Sunday in June
Parents' Day	fourth Sunday in July
Grandparents' Day	Sunday after Labor Day
UnitedNationsDay	October, 24
Halloween	October, 31

2.New Year's Day

The beginning of the New Year has been welcomed on different dates throughout history. Great Britain and its colonies in America adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, in which January 1st was restored as New Year's Day. Ways of celebrating differ as well, according to customs and religions of the world. People in Moslem societies, for example, celebrate the New Year by wearing new clothes. Southeast Asians release birds and turtles to assure themselves good luck in the twelve months ahead. Jewish people consider the day holy, and hold a religious ceremony at a meal with special foods. Hindus of India leave shrines next to their beds, so they can see beautiful objects at the start of the New Year. Japanese prepare rice cakes at a social event the week before the New Year.

Whatever the custom, most of people feel the same sentiment. With a new year, we can expect a new life. We wish each other good luck and promise ourselves to do better in the following year.

In the United States, the federal holiday is January first, but Americans begin celebrating on December 31. Sometimes people have masquerade balls, where guests dress up in costumes and cover their faces with masks. According to an old tradition, guests unmask at midnight.

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!

3.Martin Luther King's day

"We will not resort to violence. We will not degrade ourselves with hatred. Love will not be returned with hate."

It was December, 1955, and Martin Luther King, Jr. had just received his doctorate degree in theology. He had moved to Montgomery, Alabama to preaсh (проповедовать) at a Baptist church. He saw there, as in many other southern states that African-Americans had to ride in the back of public buses. Dr. King knew that this law violated (нарушал) the rights of every African-American. He organized and led a boycott of the public buses in the city of Montgomery. Any person, black or white, who was against segregation (изоляции) refused to use public transportation. Those people who boycotted were threatened (угрожали) or attacked by other p...