HOLIDAYS - AMERICAN HOLIDAYS

AMERICAN HOLIDAYS:

The USA has no official national holidays, only federal holidays.

There are eight major holidays:

- Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday of November): 1620: Puritans with

Mayflower to America; could only survive with the help of amer. Indians;

- Martin Luther King Day (third Monday of January): M. L.King fought for

civil rights for the blacks;

- Presidents' Day (third Monday of February): to honor the Presidents

- Memorial Day (fourth Monday of May): to honor the dead

- Independence Day (4. July): USA got independent from England in 1776;

- Labor Day (first Monday of September): to honor nations working people;

- Columbus Day (12. October): to remember Christoph Columbus;

- Veteran's Day (11 November): to honor the soldiers of the USA;

in addition to this:

- Mother's Day (second Sunday in May)

- Father's Day (third Sunday in June)

The USA has many election days because of many levels of government. The

most important one is Presidential Election Day, which is held every four

years

The traditional Christian holidays are:

- Christmas Day, the feast of the birth of Jesus,

- Easter, the feast of the Resurrection of Jesus,

- New Year's Day (1.1.)

- Valentine's Day (14 February), when you give gifts to people you love

Many ethnic groups like the Jews and the Moslems, celebrate their own

observances, too, but these are often no official holidays for all

Americans.

Not all Americans, like hospital workers, policemen or fire fighters are

free to celebrate holidays. But they often take their vacations in the

summer months.

Roland Oe.