This document provides information about holidays and celebrations observed throughout the calendar year in various countries. In the United States, Labor Day in September honors workers, while Thanksgiving in November commemorates the Pilgrims' harvest feast. Halloween traditions originate from Samhain Celtic festivals. Christmas is celebrated on December 25th with gift-giving, trees and religious observances. New Year's Eve parties usher in the new year on January 1st. February has Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras, while Presidents' Day honors Washington and Lincoln. International Women's Day is in March.

1. SEPTEMBER 1st
Monday
in September: LABOR DAY
 Labor Day is a United States
federal holiday that takes place on
the first Monday of September
 The origins of the American Labor
Day can be traced back to the
knights of Labor in the United
States and a parade organized by
them on September 5, 1882 in New
York City. This date honors the
"working people" who are
dedicated to the social and
economic achievements of the
country.

2. September 17th
CITIZENSHIP DAY
 Citizenship Day
commemorates the
formation and signing of the
United States Constitution
and recognizes all who have
become citizen. It is
celebrated every September
17 in remembrance of
September 17, 1787, when
delegates from 12 states at
the Constitutional
Convention signed the
Constitution into law in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

3. OCTOBER31st
HALLOWEEN
 The term Halloween, and its older
spelling Hallowe'en, is shortened
from All-hallow-even, as it is the
evening before "All Hallows' Day"
(also known as "All Saints' Day").
In Ireland, the name was All
Hallows' Eve (often shortened to
Hallow Eve)
 It originated in Ireland. The Celts
celebrated Halloween as Samhain,
"End of Summer," a pastoral and
agricultural fire festival or feast,
when the dead revisited the mortal
world, and large communal
bonfires would be lit to ward off
evil spirits.
 Celebrations:
 Costume parties
 Bobbing for apples
 Carving jack-o'-lanterns
 Trick or treat
 Children disguised go door-to-door
collecting sweets
 Rhyme: Trick or treat, smell my
feet or give me something sweet to
eat

4. November 5th
Guy
Fawkes Night
 Guy Fawkes was an English soldier
and member of a group of Roman
Catholic conspirators who
attempted to carry out the
Gunpowder Plot on 5 November
1605. Following a severe
interrogation involving the use of
torture, and a trial in Westminster
Hall by Judge John Popham,
Fawkes and his conspirators were
executed for treason and attempted
murder. Guy Fawkes's failure is
remembered with Guy Fawkes
night or Bonfire night on
November 5

5. November4th
Thursday
THANKSGIVING
In Canada it takes place the
second Monday of October because of the cold weather
 The first Thanksgiving Days in New
England were harvest festivals, or days
for thanking God for plentiful crops. For
this reason, the holiday still takes place
late in the fall, after the crops have been
gathered.
The first Thanksgiving in New England
was celebrated in Plymouth less than a
year after the Plymouth colonists had
settled in America. The first dreadful
winter in Massachusetts had killed about
half the members of the colony. But new
hope arose in the summer of 1621. The
settlers expected a good corn harvest,
despite poor crops of peas, wheat, and
barley. Thus, in early autumn, governor
William Bradford arranged a harvest
festival to give thanks to God for the
progress the colony had made.

6. What is a Traditional Thanksgiving
Dinner?
 A traditional dinner includes corn bread stuffing, mashed
potatoes, turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes,
fluffy biscuits, home made gravy and a variety of other
dishes. Some families have roast goose instead of turkey.
Favorite desserts include pumpkin pie, blueberry pie,
apple pie and chocolate pudding.

7.  Merry Christmas

8. December
Boxing DayChristmas Eve New Year´s EveChristmas Day

9. Christmas Eve (24th of
December)
 Christmas Eve (December
24th
) is traditionally the day
for decorating churches and
homes.
 Christmas decorations: Red
and green are the traditional
colours of Christmas.
 Holly, mistletoe and ivy

10. 25 th December: Christmas
or Christmas Day
 Christmas or Christmas
Day is a holiday celebrating
the birth of Jesus, the central
figure of Christianity. Aspects of
celebration may include gift-
giving, Christmas trees, display
of Nativity sets, church
attendance, the Father
Christmas/Santa Claus myth,
and family gatherings.
oChristmas carol Silent Night, Away in a Manger, O Christmas Tree, O Come All Ye Faithful
oChristmas gift

11. Santa Claus
The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of
years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that
Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near
Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and
kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It
is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and
traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick.
Over the course of many years, Nicholas’s popularity spread and
he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His
feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December
6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large
purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas
was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant
Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be
discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation,
especially in Holland

12. Christmas lights  In The States
people decorate their houses. They
also have contests
A traditional English Christmas
dinner consists of roast turkey and
stuffing, roast potatoes and
vegetables, bread sauce, cranberry
sauce and gravy, followed by
Christmas pudding with brandy
butter.

13. 26th
December Boxing
Day
Boxing Day is the following day
after Christmas Day. The name
goes back to medieval times,
more than 800 years ago, when
alms boxes were placed at the
back of every church to collect
money for the poor.
Traditionally, it is on this day
that the alms box at every
English church is opened and the
contents are distributed to the
poor.
Historians say the holiday
developed because servants
were required to work on
Christmas Day, but took
the following day off. As
servants prepared to leave
to visit their families, their
employers would present
them with Christmas boxes

14. 31st
December New
Year´s Eve
 In Australia fireworks are traditionally
set off from the Sydney Harbour Bridge
 In The USA In the United States, New
Year's Eve is a major social holiday. In the
past 100 years the “ball dropping” on top of
Times Square in New York City is a classic.
 In IrelandThe Candle in the Window.
The placing of a lighted candle in the
window of a house on Christmas eve is still
practised today. It has a number of purposes
but primarily it was a symbol of welcome to
Mary and Joseph as they travelled looking
for shelter.
 In New ZealandAs it is usually quite
warm on Christmas Day, New Zealanders
can eat their Christmas dinner outside. Many
people have a picnic or a barbecue. Some
people even have a traditional Maori hangi:
they dig a hole in the ground and heat it with
hot stones. Then they put meat and
vegetables into this hole, cover the hole and
let the food cook inside.

15. New Zealand
 NEW ZEALAND In New Zealand, it is the middle of
summer at Christmas time. Instead of a hot drink
Santa often gets a cooling beer as a snack on
Christmas Eve. On Christmas day families often have
a picnic or go to the beach for Christmas Dinner. It is
more traditional to have a cold ham than a hot turkey.

16. Australia
 In Australia, Santa's sleigh is
pulled by eight white kangaroos.
Christmas dinner is eaten outdoors
and is followed by a visit to the
beach or a game of cricket.
Christmas in Australia is always
about 30° celsius which is a rather
hot day. Most Australian families
go away and spend their holidays
in a resort or on the beach.
Swimming is always popular.

17. JANUARYNew Year
 This is a hangover day
New Year´s Resolutions:
go to the gym
quit smoking
study harder
take up a new hobby

18. New Year Trivia Quiz
 Under which calendar is New Year´s Day
January the 1st?
 A) Julian calendar
 B) Gregorian calendar
 C) Jewish calendar
 D) Chinese calendar
 Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the new
year for which religion?
 A) Muslim
 B) Christian
 C) Jewish
 D) Buddhist
 The name “January” derives from the name
of the Roman god Janus, who is the god of...
 A) wine and grapes
 B) clocks and calendars
 C) gates and doors
 E) babies and childbirth
 Kwanzaa is a seven-day holiday that begins
Dec. 26 and extends through Jan. 1. What
does the word mean in Swahili?
 A) first fruits
 B) first people
 C) first days
 D) first dance

19. January 25th marks the annual
celebration of Scotland's national
poet Robert Burns
Burns Night is annually celebrated in
Scotland on or around January 25. It
commemorates the life of the bard (poet)
Robert Burns, who was born on January
25, 1759. The day also celebrates Burns'
contribution to Scottish culture. Burns' best
known work is "Auld Lang Syne".
Haggis, neeps and tatties
Haggis, neeps and tatties traditionally
eaten in Scotland on Burns Night.

20. Black History Month, also
known as African-American
History Month in America, is
an annual observance in the
United States, Canada, and the
United Kingdom for
remembrance of important
people and events in the history
of the African diaspora. It is
celebrated annually in the
United States and Canada in
February
February: Black HistoryFebruary: Black History
MonthMonth

21. FEBRUARY14th
Valentine
´s Day; Mardi Gras
 Saint Valentine's Day or
Valentine's Day falls on February
14. It is the traditional day on
which lovers express their love for
each other by sending Valentine's
cards, chocolate boxes and bunches
of flowers
28th Mardi Gras USA (New
Orleans)
Mardi Gras (French for "Fat
Tuesday") is the day before Ash
Wednesday, and is also called
"Shrove Tuesday" or "Pancake
Day". It is the final day of
Carnival.

22. Presidents' Day (Washington's
Birthday) in the United States
Washington's Birthday, also known as
Presidents' Day, is a federal holiday held
on the third Monday of February. The day
honors presidents of the United States,
including George Washington, the USA's
first president.
PRESIDENT’S DAY

23. MARCH
 8th International Women's Day (IWD) is marked on 8th
March every
year. It is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and
social achievements of women.
 The idea of having an international women's day was first put forward at the
turn of the 20th century amid rapid world industrialization and economic
expansion that led to protests over working conditions. Women from clothing
and textile factories staged one such protest on 8th March 1857 in New York
City. The garment workers were protesting what they saw as very poor
working conditions and low wages. The protesters were attacked and
dispersed by police. These women established their first labor union in the
same month two years later.
 More protests followed on 8th March in subsequent years, most notably in
1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding
shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. In 1910 the first international
women's conference was held in Copenhagen by the Socialist International
and an 'International Women's Day' was established.

24. Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá Féile Pádraig) is the feast
day which annually celebrates Saint Patrick (386-493), the
patron saint of Ireland, on March 17th.
MARCH17th St Patrick´s day in
Ireland

25. APRILApril´s Fool
 April Fool's Day or All Fool's
Day, though not a holiday in its
own right, is a notable day
celebrated in many countries on
April 1. The day is marked by the
commission of hoaxes and other
practical jokes of varying
sophistication on friends and
neighbors, or sending them on
fools' errands, the aim of which is
to embarrass the gullible.
 In Spanish-speaking countries,
similar pranks are practiced on
December 28, the Day of the
Holy Innocents.

26. EASTER

Shrove Tuesday

27. Easter
 Palm Sunday
This is the Sunday before Easter. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on
a donkey. Christians receive palm crosses and may process
around the church.
Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter.
 Good Friday
Good Friday commemorates the death of Jesus.
 Easter Sunday
This is the most important date in the Church Year, when
Christians celebrate Jesus' resurrection from dead.

28. EASTER
 Palm Sunday
This is the Sunday before Easter. Jesus rode into
Jerusalem on a donkey. Christians receive palm
crosses and may process around the church.
Good Friday
Good Friday commemorates the death of Jesus.
 Maundy Thursday is the Thursday
before Easter.
 Easter Sunday
This is the most important date in the
Church Year, when Christians celebrate
Jesus' resurrection from dead.
Good Friday
Good Friday commemorates the
death of Jesus.

29.  The most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the
resurrection of Christ between 21 March and 25 April (on the first Sunday after
the first full moon following the northern spring equinox. The period in which
occurs especially the weekend from Good Friday to Easter Monday).
Easter Sunday is the day where people give chocolate Easter Eggs.
An Easter tradition in Britain are HOT CROSS BUNS (small cakes, a bread roll
containing dried fruit). The first Christians in Rome made hot cross buns two
thousand years ago.

30.  May, second Sunday, Mother's Day
 Honors mothers and motherhood
May Day
Mother's Day
A mother's love is a
blessing,
No matter where you roam.
Keep her while she's living,
You'll miss her when she's
gone.
Love her as in childhood,
When feeble, old and grey,
For you'll never miss a
mother's love
'til she's buried beneath the
clay.
(traditional Irish song)

31. JUNE
 June, third Sunday Father's Day
 Honors fathers and fatherhood.
 Graduation

32. JULY1st
of July
Celebrate Canada Day in the
nation’s capital!
Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada) is
the national day of Canada, a federal
statutory holiday celebrating the
anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment
of the British North America Act, 1867
(today called the Constitution Act, 1867),
which united three colonies into a single
country called Canada within the British
Empire.

33. JULY4th
of July Independence Day in the
USA
The first celebrations included
bell ringing, bonfires,
processions, and speeches
Independence Day or Fourth of
July is the annual celebration of the
United States' "birthday," the date of
the passage of the Declaration of
Independence by the Continental
Congress on July 4, 1776
In some towns, these
celebrations also had a
mock funeral for the king,
symbolizing the end of
America's rule by the
British monarchy

34. AUGUST
Summer holidaysSummer holidays