The document provides information about various holidays celebrated in the United States and around the world, including their histories, traditions, and dates of observation. Some of the holidays mentioned include New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Earth Day, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Father's Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.

1. “ ACCESS” Khasavyurt 2008

2. The USA holidays

3. New Year January – New Year’s Day. Throughout the western world the traditional “New Year” is celebrated beginning on December 31 by partying until the wee hours of the morning usually ending with a countdown of the seconds until midnight ,the magic hour, when the new year is officially ushered in. A different twist on this traditional celebration might include creating one’s own party favors i.e.: funny hats, noise makers and the like. Inspire your friends, family and guests to be creative by offering a special prize for the most original design. You can check out the local library or bookstore for books that will offer you how to ideas that are fun and inexpensive to make. Another way to make your New Year’s celebration unique and memorable is to surprise your friends, family and guests with a special one of a kind gift to get their year started off right.

4. Martin Luther King January- the Third Monday. The History of Martin Luther King Day It took 15 years to create the federal Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. Congressman John Conyers, Democrat from Michigan, first introduced legislation for a commemorative holiday four days after King was assassinated in 1968. After the bill became stalled, petitions endorsing the holiday containing six million names were submitted to Congress. Conyers and Rep. Shirley Chisholm, Democrat of New York, resubmitted King holiday legislation each subsequent legislative session. Public pressure for the holiday mounted during the 1982 and 1983 civil rights marches in Washington. Congress passed the holiday legislation in 1983, which was then signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. A compromise moving the holiday from Jan. 15, King's birthday, which was considered too close to Christmas and New Year's, to the third Monday in January helped overcome opposition to the law.

5. St. Valentine Day. February 14 Valentine’s Day has its origins dating back to the Roman Empire when a young Christian man was martyred for refusing to give up his faith. According to legend, before he died he wrote a farewell note to a young daughter of one of his jailer’s, who had befriended him, and signed it “from your Valentine”. Today, modern traditions include cards, flowers and candy as ways to say I love you. But if you are looking for something that will really say it in a BIG way try saying it with one of the following ideas.

6. PRESIDENTS’ DAY Presidents' Day is celebrated in February to honor two of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. The holiday is celebrated in the United States on the third Monday in February. George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. When he was born, America was not a nation yet. It belonged to England, a country across the ocean. People in America didn't want to belong to England so they fought a war to become a separate country. George Washington was an American general in the war. America won the war and picked a new name for itself: The United States of America. George Washington was elected to be its first President.

7. March. St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick is the patron saint Ireland who spent his life converting the Irish to Christianity. March 17 commemorates the anniversary of his death in 461 A.D. Irish Americans celebrate by having parades and even those who are not of Irish descent get into the act. Wearing something green is one way that many show their solidarity. Shamrocks and leprechauns symbolize the folklore traditions of the old country. One way to allow children to enjoy the spirit of the holiday is to play “Find the Hidden Treasure”. According to legend Leprechauns, those tiny imaginary creatures akin to fairies, will try to buy their freedom if captured by offering to tell where a pot of gold is hidden. Simply hide the pot of gold (use the chocolate gold foil wrapped coins) and let the children rush to find the hidden gold treasure. A variation of “Warm, Hot & Cold” will be a helpful aid for younger children.

8. April 1 – All Fools’ Day. Unlike most of the other nonfoolish holidays, the history of April Fool's Day, sometimes called All Fool's Day, is not totally clear. There really wasn't a "first April Fool's Day" that can be pinpointed on the calendar. Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously in several cultures at the same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring. The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1.

9. March – April. Easter Sunday. Easter is a Christian holiday celebrating Christ’s resurrection. It falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. Easter bunnies, lilies and colored Easter eggs are a few of the traditional symbols of this holiday. Easter egg tips include Never boil eggs. Boiling causes eggs to be tough with a greenish ring around the yolk. The best way to hard cook eggs is to place eggs in cold water and bring to a boil. Remove immediately from the heat, cover and let them stand for about 15 minutes for large eggs. Medium eggs take about 3 minutes less and extra large eggs for about 3 minutes longer.

10. Pass Over This Hebrew festival is usually celebrated in late March or April. It usually lasts seven or eight days and commemorates when the angel of God “passed over” the houses of the Hebrews who sprinkled their doorposts with the blood of the paschal lamb. Exploring the traditions of Passover is an excellent opportunity for teaching children. The Passover festival, one that Jesus himself actively participated in, gives children a better understanding of the Christian faith as well as providing a deeper understanding of cross cultural beliefs. Check out books from the library and learn more about this important tradition.

11. April 22. Earth Day The first Earth Day was held in 1970. This holiday is intended to create an awareness of responsible stewardship of our fragile planet’s resources. Earth Day is a good time to make a donation or renew a membership to an environmental organization such as Defender’s of Wildlife, Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy or the Sierra Club. There are numerous organizations to choose from but it is a good idea to check out the track record before you make a decision.

12. Mother’s Day – The Second Sunday of May. Have you ever wondered why Mother's Day is celebrated the second Sunday of every May? Do you want to know some things you can do to make Mother's Day extra special? Read on for the answer to these questions and more. Did Mother's Day begin in the United States? No. Long, long, ago, in ancient Greece, the people paid tribute to Rhea, the Mother of the Gods, each spring. A little later in history it is noted that England paid homage to mothers on "Mothering Sunday," the fourth Sunday of Lent. In 1872, Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) suggested the idea of Mother's Day, but it was Miss Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948), of Philadelphia, who began a letter-writing campaign to a variety of influential people that made Mother's Day a national holiday.

13. Memorial Day – Last Monday in May. This holiday is a day on which Americans honour the dead. Originally a day on which frogs and flowers were placed on graves of soldiers who died in the American Civil War, it has become a day on which the dead of all wars and all other dead are remembered the same way. Families and individuals honour the memories of their loved ones who have died. Church services, visits to the cemeteries, flowers on the graves, or even silent tribute mark the day with dignity and solemnity. It is a day of reflection. However, to many Americans the day also signals the beginning of summer - with a three-day weekend to spend at the beach, in the mountains, or at home relaxing. In many communities, special ceremonies are held in cemeteries, or at monuments for the war dead by veterans of military services. Some hold parades and others hold memorial services or special programs in churches, schools other public meeting places. On Memorial Day, the President or Vice President of the United States gives a speech and lays a wreath on the tombs.

14. Father’s Day – the 3 – rd Sunday of June Mother's Day came first, but Father's Day wasn't too far behind. It's amazing what people accomplish when they put their minds to good use and encourage others to join their cause. It just wouldn't be the same without many of our holidays and Father's Day is one of them. Who came up with the idea of Father's Day Her name was Sonora Louise Smart Dodd and she lived in Spokane, Washington. Sonora was the oldest of six children raised by their father, William Jackson Smart, when their mother died during childbirth. Sonora honored and revered her father, and while listening to a Mother's Day sermon, in 1909, she determined there should also be a day to honor fathers .

15. July 4, Independence Day Happy Birthday America! What are we really celebrating every July 4? For many this holiday has become just another three day week-end and a day for cookouts. It is on the 4th of July that we celebrate the day the American colonies declared their independence from England in the year 1776. Thomas Jefferson penned that famous document, the Declaration of Independence. It is a good idea that we refresh our memories at this special holiday of just what that document says. In Congress, July 4, 1776.The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united State of America, when the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.--

16. Labour Day "Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation."

17. October 12 – Columbus Day. On October, 1492 , Columbus discovered the first island in America, the island of San Salvador in West Indies. The first celebration of the discovery was held in New York City in 1792. Many people say that Christopher Columbus was not the first European to discover America. The Irish and Norwegians claim their explorers came to America first. But no one paid much attention to their discoveries. Columbus’s discovery caused Europeans to realize that a new land – America – existed. Columbus didn’t know that he discovered America. He thought he’d landed near China or Japan.

18. November – the 4-th Thursday. Thanksgiving Day. The idea of a Harvest Feast goes back to ancient times. The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 at the Plymouth colony in Massachusetts. After the American Revolution President George Washington proclaimed November 26, 1789, Thanksgiving Day to honor the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and later in 1863 President Abraham Lincoln named the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. It did not become an official national holiday until 1941 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt when Congress passed a special resolution declaring that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.

19. December Festival of Lights. Hanukkah usually falls sometime during the month of December Hanukkah, a Jewish festival, was first celebrated in the second century B.C.E. by Judah the Maccabee and his followers to mark to reconsecration of the Temple in Jerusalem after its recapture from the Syrian Greeks. This festival is held over eight days and nights to commemorate the miracle of the oil recorded in the Talmud regarding the rekindling of the Eternal Light in the temple.

20. December Christmas Day The traditional day to celebrate Christ’s birth is December 25. It was not until after the 4th century A.D. that the tradition of celebrating Jesus’ birth became associated with the winter solstice festivities. The Romans celebrated a feast dedicated to the Sun on December 25. The tradition of the 12 days of Christmas replaced the winter solstice celebrations that were observed between December 25 and January 6. Gift giving probably began sometime during the Middle Ages and was inspired by the account of the Magi who following the star to Bethlehem bearing gifts for the Christ child.

21. Kwansaa. December 26 through New Year’ Day This is a cultural observance for black Americans or others of African descent. Mr. Maulana Karenga, a college professor, created the idea in the 1960’s. Kwanzaa is Swahili and is translated to mean the first fruits of harvest. To celebrate Kwanzaa the family members gather together each day to discuss one of seven principles and for the lighting of a candle. A Kinara, which is a seven branched candleholder, symbolizes the continent and the peoples of Africa is used for this ceremony.