This document provides brief descriptions of various holidays celebrated around the world, including: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Memorial Day, Passover, Flag Day, Patriot Day, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, Halloween, Boxing Day, and Hanukkah. For each, it gives some key details about the date it falls on, its origins and traditions, and how it is commemorated or celebrated in different places.

1. Holidays
Done by:
• Diana Calado nº 9
• Inês Santos nº 10
• Patricia Pereira nº 15

2. Martin Luther King Day
The Martin Luther King Day is a national holiday in honor of Martin
Luther King. It was established in 1983 and is celebrated on the third
Monday of January, close to the anniversary date of King. It is one of
three national holidays in the United States in commemoration of a
person.

3. • Saint Valentine's Day, often simply Valentine's Day, is observed on
February 14 each year. Today Valentine's Day is celebrated in many
countries around the world, mostly in the West, although it remains a
working day in all of them.
•The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of
Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly
love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in
which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting
flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as
"valentines").
• Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped
outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th
century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting

4. • Saint Patrick's Day or the Feast of Saint Patrick is a cultural and
religious holiday celebrated on 17 March, the anniversary of his death.
It commemorates Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized of
the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.
• The day is generally characterized by the attendance of church
services, wearing of green attire, public parades and processions, and
the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating, and drinking alcohol, which
is often proscribed during the rest of the season.
•Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of
Ireland, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador and Montserrat.
It is also widely celebrated by the Irish Diaspora, especially in places
such as Great Britain, Canada, the United
States, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand.

5. Memorial Day
• Memorial Day is an American federal holiday observed annually on the
last Monday of May. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and
women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces
Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil
War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in
the Civil War. By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to
honor all Americans who have died in all wars. It typically marks the start
of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.
• Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor
those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an
American flag on each grave in national cemeteries.

6. Passover begins at sundown
• Passover is a Jewishfestival. It commemorates the story of the
Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt.
Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish
calendar, which is in spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and is
celebrated for seven or eight days. It is one of the most widely observed
Jewish holidays.
• Together with Shavuot ("Pentecost")
and Sukkot ("Tabernacles"), Passover is one of the three pilgrimage
festivals (Shalosh Regalim) during which the entire Jewish populace
historically made a pilgrimage to the Temple in
Jerusalem. Samaritans still make this pilgrimage to Mount Gerizim, but
only men participate in public worship.

7. Flag Day
• On June 14, 1917, as the soldiers of the American Expeditionary Force
(AEF) travel to join the Allies on the battlefields of World War I in
France, United States President Woodrow Wilson addresses the
nation's public on the annual celebration of Flag Day.

8. Patriot day
• In the United States, Patriot Day and National Day of Service and
Remembrance (previously Patriot Day, until September 10, 2012) occurs
on September 11 of each year, designated in memory of the 2,977 killed in
the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Initially, the day was called the
Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks on
September 11, 2001. When the new name was proposed, it received
opposition from Massachusetts, which already had a Patriots' Day.

9. Thanksgiving
• Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the
United States and Canada. Several other places around the world
observe similar celebrations. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of
November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in
Canada. Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious and cultural
traditions, but today is celebrated in a more secular manner.
•

10. Remembrance day
• Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day) is a
memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of
World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have
died in the line of duty.
•This day, or alternative dates, is also recognized as special days for war
remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance
Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World
War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of
the 11th day of the 11th month," in accordance with the Armistice, signed
by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20
that morning. ("At the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or
11:00 a.m.) World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of
Versailles on 28 June 1919.

11. • The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of
Remembrance Day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields". These
poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in
World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood
spilled in the war.

12. Halloween
• Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of "All Hallows' Evening"), also
known as All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of
countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All
Hallows (or All Saints).
• Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (also known
as "guising"), attending costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-
lanterns, lightingbonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted
attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

13. • Boxing Day is traditionally the day following Christmas Day, when
servants and trades people would receive gifts from their superiors or
employers, known as a "Christmas box". Today, Boxing Day is better
known as a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the
first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or
regional laws. It is observed in the United Kingdom, Hong
Kong, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and some other Commonwealth
nations..

14. Hanukkah
Hanukkah (sometimes transliterated Chanukkah) is a Jewish holiday
celebrated for eight days and nights. It starts on the 25th of the
Jewish month of Kislev, which coincides with late November-late
December on the secular calendar.