In ancient times, holy days were established to thank the gods for such events as the start of a new year, the coming of spring, and the ripening of the harvest. Throughout the world, celebrations still mark these occasions. For example, people in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving Day each fall.

The dates of these festivals may vary. A spring festival in the Northern Hemisphere may become an autumn festival when it is celebrated in the Southern Hemisphere. And many Asian and African countries use lunar calendars, which are based on the revolution of the moon around the earth. Lunar months are shorter than solar months, so lunar holidays may fall on different days each year on calendars used in the Western world.

New Year’s Day. The start of a new year is celebrated all around the world. But the date may vary, according to the calendar used. The new year starts on the Jewish calendar in September or October. The Chinese mark the day in January or February. Many Muslim sects celebrate New Year’s Day on the first day of spring. And Hindus celebrate the start of a new “year” every three months.

Holi, March or April. Many countries celebrate the arrival of spring. In India, spring is greeted in the Hindu fire festival, Holi. There are bonfires, feasts, and songs and dances. People often play tricks on one another.

Lantern Festival, early March. The Chinese celebrate the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first moon, at the end of their New Year’s season. It is a time for fun, games, and special foods and sweets.

The New Year of the Trees (Hamishah Asar B’Shevat), January or February. This day is celebrated by Jews throughout the world as a spring festival. It falls on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. In Israel, children plant tree seedlings on this day.

Arbor Day, various dates, often in spring. Children in the United States and many other countries have a day to plant trees, too. The first U.S. Arbor Day was observed on April 10, 1872, in Nebraska. Other states soon adopted the idea, and Arbor Day is now observed in all the states, Canada, and many other countries. The date varies with the planting season in each country.

Santa Lucia Day, December 13. This is a Swedish holiday, brimming with songs, food and drink, and good cheer. It comes from an ancient festival honoring Lucina, goddess of the harvest, light, and life. It once marked the end of the harvest.

At six or seven in the morning everywhere in Sweden, “Lucia” brides serve “Lucia” buns and coffee to each member of the household. The girls wear long, white, crimson-sashed nightgowns with long sleeves. On their heads are crowns of green leaves studded with lighted candles. Only blond girls may act as Lucia brides; dark-haired girls must be content to be attendants. They serenade those they serve with the “Santa Lucia” song.

Hogmanay, December 31. The people of Scotland and northern England observe this day by exchanging gifts. The children receive gifts of cake in return for their songs. Scots in London assemble outside St. Paul’s Cathedral and, forming a chain with their hands, join in singing “Auld Lang Syne.”

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Every religion has important holidays. For Christians, Christmas and Easter are the most important days. These days mark the birth and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover are major Jewish holidays. And the Jewish holidays Hanukkah and Purim are especially appealing to children.

Muslims all over the world look forward to Mouloud (or Maulid-an-Nabi) in mid-December. This is a nine-day period set aside to mark the anniversary of the birth of Mohammed, the founder of Islam. (The birthday officially falls on the eleventh day of Rabia I, the third month of the Islamic calendar.) There are feasts, fairs, and pageants. And the story of Mohammed’s birth and life is told and retold.

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Many countries have national holidays that are established either by law or by custom. These holidays often honor great people or events in the country’s past. Often laws order the closing of schools, banks, offices, and businesses on these days. In Britain, holidays set by acts of Parliament are called bank holidays. In Canada they are called statutory days. In the United States, holidays set by government are called public, or legal, holidays.

In the United States the federal government sets legal holidays only for its own employees and for the District of Columbia. Each state or territory decides which holidays it will observe. To provide three-day vacations (the weekend plus Monday), the federal government observes three holidays on Mondays rather than on their traditional dates—Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day. Many states also observe these holidays on Mondays.

Holidays Honoring Great People

Every country has holidays that honor its founders, its heroes, and its most famous citizens. Here are a few of these holidays in countries around the world.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday, Third Monday in January. The birthday of the civil rights leader who was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1964 for his nonviolent efforts to secure justice for black Americans is celebrated with special programs and memorial services. In 1983, legislation was passed making Martin Luther King’s birthday a legal national holiday. Since 1986 the holiday has been observed on the third Monday in January.

Robert E. Lee’s Birthday, January 19. The birthday of the commander in chief of the Confederate Army is observed in ten southern states with special programs and dinners. Wreaths are laid at various Lee monuments.

Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday, February 12. The first public celebration of Lincoln’s birthday was held by the Republican Club of New York at a dinner in Delmonico’s Restaurant in 1887. But there had been unofficial birthday celebrations honoring the 16th president of the United States before this date. In 1892 the Illinois legislature made the anniversary a legal holiday. It is now a legal holiday in more than half the states and the Virgin Islands.

George Washington’s Birthday, Third Monday in February (formerly observed on February 22). George Washington saw his birthday widely celebrated during his lifetime. After the colonies won independence, the birthday of the first president of the United States became one of the most important of America’s celebrations. It took the place of those honoring the British king and queen. It is a legal holiday in almost every state of the union, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. Schools, banks, and public offices are closed. Special services are held at Mount Vernon and the Washington Monument.

Some states now combine the observance of Lincoln’s Birthday and Washington’s Birthday into one legal holiday, Presidents’ Day.

Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17. This is Ireland’s greatest national holiday as well as a holy day. The date marks the anniversary of the death of the missionary who became the patron saint of Ireland. It is a happy holiday for the Irish wherever they may be’in Dublin or New York City. The day is celebrated with parades, speeches, festive dinners, and dances. Green, the national color of Ireland, is the color of the day. Many Irish also wear shamrocks, the country’s national symbol. According to legend, Saint Patrick used the shamrock’s three leaflets to explain the concept of the Trinity to the Irish people.

King’s or Queen’s Birthday, June. England’s rulers have two birthdays—their own as well as an official one. The official birthday is celebrated sometime in early June, not at a fixed date. The fine weather at that time allows for one of Britain’s finest military spectacles, called Trooping the Colour. Band music fills the air while the king or queen on horseback, dressed in scarlet, reviews the uniformed troops. Crowds of people line the streets to cheer their ruler. This day is also celebrated in other Commonwealth countries.

Kamehameha Day, June 11 (June 12 in some places). On this day all the islands of the state of Hawaii honor King Kamehameha I, who united the islands under his rule in 1810. Colorful tropical flowers decorate floats and adorn marchers in parades throughout the state. Traditional foods such as roast pig and poi, served at outdoor feasts called luaus, are a high point of the celebration.

Simón Bolívar’s Birthday, July 24. The great South American general and statesman known as “the Washington of South America” and “the Liberator” is honored in all the countries he helped free from Spanish rule—Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. His birthplace, Caracas, Venezuela, considers the holiday its own.

Confucius’ Birthday, September 28. The Chinese philosopher and teacher, one of the most influential people in history, is honored on this special day in Taiwan. The observance is also known as Teacher’s Day.

Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday, October 2. The beloved political and spiritual leader of India is honored on his birthday in his native land. Flowers and wreaths are brought to his shrine in New Delhi.

Columbus Day, Second Monday in October (formerly observed on October 12). The holiday honoring Christopher Columbus’ sighting of America on October 12, 1492, is observed in the states of the United States and also in parts of Canada, in Puerto Rico, and in some cities in Italy and Spain. Although Columbus was not the first explorer to set foot in the Western Hemisphere, his landing at San Salvador Island in what is now the Bahamas was very important. It opened the way for the settlement of America by Europeans. It is probable that the first celebration honoring the event was held in 1792. Columbus Day became a legal holiday in the United States in 1892, 400 years after the famous voyage. It was then called Discovery Day. Many cities and organizations sponsor parades and banquets honoring the holiday.

October 12 is celebrated in Latin American countries not only as Columbus or Discoverer’s Day, but also as the Day of the Race (El Día de la Raza). It honors the many different peoples of Latin America. Schoolchildren in the larger cities parade. Fiestas, sometimes lasting several days, are held in the areas with large Indian populations.

Guy Fawkes Day, November 5. This British holiday is very different from celebrations honoring great people and brave deeds. It commemorates a villainous act, the “Gunpowder Plot” of 1605, in which Guy Fawkes and his friends tried to blow up King James I and his Parliament. The plotters succeeded in storing 20 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar under the Parliament House. The plan was discovered before Parliament opened on November 5, and Guy Fawkes and his helpers were executed. Throughout England on this day, the young people build bonfires and burn effigies (stuffed figures) of Fawkes and his friends.

Patriotic Holidays

Important events are remembered on holidays in many countries.

Australia Day, January 26. This holiday marks the start of European settlement of Australia. On this date in 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip landed a company of more than 1,000 men and women at Port Jackson and founded the colony of New South Wales. The occasion is celebrated with fireworks, concerts, and many other family activities.

Pan American Day, April 14. Since 1931 this holiday has been observed by the United States and the other American republics that are members of the Organization of American States. The schools plan entertainments that will show the students the customs of the other Pan American nations.

Liberation Day, April 25. This day marks Italy’s liberation by the Allies from Fascist rule in World War II.

Constitution Day, May 3. One of Japan’s newer holidays, this was first observed in 1947, when Japan set up a democratic government under parliamentary rule.

Commonwealth Day, May 24. This celebration is observed in many parts of the Commonwealth of Nations. It began as Victoria Day, honoring Queen Victoria’s birthday. After the death of the Queen in 1901, the celebration, as Empire Day, came to represent the unity of the British Empire. Now called Commonwealth Day, May 24 is celebrated with parades, military displays, banquets, toasts, fireworks, mass meetings, and speeches. In the United States, British citizens and others of British ancestry observe the day with parties and receptions.

Victoria Day, the Monday before May 25. This is a public, or statutory, holiday in Canada. Queen’s Birthday, another public holiday in Canada, is usually celebrated on the same date.

Memorial Day, Last Monday in May (formerly observed on May 30). This is one of the most beautiful and sacred of the American patriotic holidays, celebrated by most of the states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. In May, 1868, General John A. Logan, Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, named this day for decorating the graves of the Union soldiers. The custom of placing flowers on the graves of soldiers began in 1866 in Waterloo, New York. In the beginning the holiday was called Decoration Day. It now honors the dead of all wars. Memorial Day is observed with parades of military units, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and other organizations. Ceremonies are held at the grave of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery at Arlington, Virginia. Graves of American soldiers in France are decorated by both the French and the Americans on this day.

Through the years the tradition of Memorial Day has widened to include the decoration of family graves. The debris of winter is cleared away, and fresh flowers are planted in remembrance of the dead.

Confederate Memorial Day, April 26 (and other dates). Most of the U.S. states observe the Memorial Day holiday. But some Southern states also honor the Confederate soldiers who died during the U.S. Civil War on Confederate Memorial Day.

Canada Day, July 1. This marks the birthday of Canada. On this day in 1867, the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united as the Dominion of Canada. It is a national holiday on which flags are displayed and the national anthem is sung at all gatherings. Since the schools are closed in July, they hold their celebration on Victoria Day in May.

Independence Day, July 4. This holiday marks the birth of the United States of America. It commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Celebrations on this day include parades and picnics. Flags are flown from houses and buildings, and communities and organizations put on displays of fireworks.

Bastille Day, July 14. On this day the national independence of France is celebrated. Bastille Day is as important to the French as Independence Day is to people of the United States. The anniversary dates from 1789, when the Bastille, the French royal prison, was captured and destroyed by the people of Paris. The prison was a symbol of cruelty and oppression. Its capture marked the start of the French Revolution, which led to the winning of democratic government for the French. A monument now stands in Paris at the site of the Bastille.

The French observe Bastille Day with military parades with brass bands. At night, public buildings and monuments are floodlit, and people dance in the streets in every city and town of France.

Independence Day (India), August 15. The people of India observe with great national pride the date on which India gained independence from Britain. Republic Day (January 26) is marked by celebrations in New Delhi, the capital.

Day of the Great October Socialist Revolution, November 7. Before the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Soviet leaders gathered on top of Lenin’s mausoleum to view the parade that was traditional on this day. Tanks rolled by, followed by trucks hauling the newest weaponry, and workers paraded past the reviewing stands as the Soviets paid tribute to the Bolshevik (later Communist) Revolution of 1917. The day is still a holiday in Russia.

Veterans Day, November 11. Originally this day commemorated the end of the fighting in World War I at 11 A.M. on November 11, 1918. It was called Armistice Day. But since that name applied only to World War I, the new name was proclaimed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954. Veterans Day now honors U.S. soldiers in all wars. It is observed in most states and in the U.S. territories and possessions. Canada honors its soldiers on the same date. There the holiday is known as Remembrance Day.

The national observance of Veterans Day in the United States takes place at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Services begin at 11 A.M. with two minutes of silence followed by taps. Churches everywhere hold memorial services, and schools present special assembly services.

England and France commemorated Armistice Day in 1920 by burying an unknown soldier in each country’s highest place of honor—Westminster Abbey in London and beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Italy also honors its unknown soldier of World War I on November 4, the date of the Victory of Vittorio Veneto. On this day a wreath is placed at his tomb in the monument to Victor Emmanuel II in Rome.

France’s newest legal holiday is May 8, the day when World War II came to an end in Europe. It has become more important to the French than November 11.

Other Public Holidays

In addition to celebrating religious occasions and honoring important people and events of the past, some countries set aside special days for other reasons.

Great Britain’s Bank Holidays. These are the equivalent of legal holidays in the United States and Canada. Banks and businesses are closed, and a holiday spirit prevails. The Bank Holidays in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are Good Friday; Easter Monday; the Spring Bank Holiday, celebrated in May; the Summer Bank Holiday, in August; and Boxing Day, the first working day after Christmas. Boxing Day has no connection with prizefighting. It refers to the pleasant custom of giving Christmas boxes containing money to mail carriers, messengers, and others who have provided services during the year.

May Day, or International Labor Day, May 1. May Day is one of the oldest holidays. It has been celebrated as a traditional welcoming of spring and rebirth. Flowers are gathered, songs sung, and children dance around a maypole. In the late 1800’s, May Day became a labor holiday in many countries of the world. Public picnics, banquets, parades, and special programs highlight the day.

Labor Day, First Monday in September. This holiday for the working people began on September 5, 1882, with a parade in New York City. In 1884 the holiday was moved to its current day in September. Labor Day first became a legal holiday in Oregon in 1887, and it became a national holiday in 1894. Today, Canada and Puerto Rico also celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday in September. The day is observed with parades, labor-group meetings, picnics, and sporting events. The weekend preceding Labor Day has also become a traditional part of the holiday.

United States General Election Day. In 1845, Congress established the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November as General Election Day. The election of the president and vice president, which takes place every four years in the years divisible by four, is the most exciting and important occasion. But each state, county, city, and town has officers who must be elected for terms of different lengths. Thus every November sees an election somewhere in the United States.

Election Day is different from other holidays in that it gives every citizen of voting age an important duty. The right to vote for the candidate of one’s choice is one of the great privileges of living in a democratic country.

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Some holidays are occasions for great parties, pranks, or other special celebrations. They may have begun as religious holidays or been established to mark a special event. But now they are mostly for fun. In the United States, Halloween and Valentine’s Day are such holidays.

Carnival, January 6 to Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday). Lent, the time of fasting before Easter, is preceded by a long period of merrymaking called Carnival. It is observed primarily in areas where most of the people are Roman Catholic. The pageants, parades, and feasting of Carnival have their origins in ancient rites that welcomed the approach of spring. In Europe and Latin America, elaborate flower-bedecked floats, costumed revelers, and bull fights add to the spirit of Carnival.

Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday. The spirit of Carnival reaches a high point on Mardi Gras, which means “Fat Tuesday” in French. The origin of the name comes from the fact that since fasting begins the following day (Ash Wednesday), feasting is called for. And feasting is the order of the day, as are parades of floats, masked balls, and dancing in the streets. Children as well as adults choose a royal court that rules for the day. The best known of the festivals of Mardi Gras are those in New Orleans (United States), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Nice and Lyon (France).

Lantern Festival, Early March. China celebrates the Lantern Festival, marking the end of the New Year’s season, on the 15th day of the first moon. It is a time for fun, games, and special foods and sweets.

April Fools’ Day, April 1. On the first of April, it may be a good idea to look the other way if you see a purse lying on the sidewalk. The chances are it will be empty, and you could be called an “April Fool” for picking it up. The custom of playing tricks on this day is so old that no one is sure how it started. In France, April first is called the day of April Fish. Children may receive a gift of chocolate fish for their tricks.

Dragon Boat Festival, June. All over China, dragon-boat races are held each year on the fifth day of the fifth moon. This festival, honoring an ancient Chinese poet and statesman, is a joyful time celebrated with feasts and merrymaking.

American Indian Dance Celebrations, August. The Iroquois in the East and the Arapaho and Hopi in the West, among others, hold ceremonial dance festivals each year. The Hopi pray for rain, and the Iroquois give thanks for the harvest. In certain Indian groups, the faces of the dancers are masked. In others the faces and sometimes the bodies of the dancers are painted with designs that have special meanings. The dancers wear the traditional dress of their ancestors as they perform these sacred rites.

Oktoberfest (October Festival), September or October. This fun-filled German festival began with the celebration of a royal wedding in 1810. Each year, thousands of visitors come to Munich to sing, dance, and down glass after glass of famous Munich beer.

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Certain days during the year are associated with weather predictions. They are famous for being inaccurate.

Groundhog Day, February 2. Sunshine is a bad omen for America’s best-known weather prophet, for it promises six more weeks of winter. According to the legend, the groundhog, also called the woodchuck, chooses this day to crawl out of its cozy nest. If the sun is shining and the groundhog can see its shadow, it creeps back for six more weeks. If the sky is cloudy, he stays outside, expecting an early spring.

Groundhog Day had its beginning in Candlemas Day, the Festival of the Virgin on February 2. Since early Christian times, the candles to be used in the church were blessed on this day. In Scotland a dry, fair Candlemas Day promises more winter; wet, unpleasant weather means the winter is nearly over and spring will soon follow.

Feast of Saint Swithin, July 15. This might be a good day for the English to take a look at their umbrellas. Rain on Saint Swithin’s Day foretells rain for the next 40 days; fair weather means no rain for the same period. Legend tells that Saint Swithin, a pious, humble, British monk, asked to be buried outside the cathedral, where rain would fall upon his grave. A later bishop planned to have the body moved to a shrine inside the church to honor his memory. This plan so angered the saint that on the appointed day, July 15, he sent rains, which continued for the next 40 days. The plan had to be given up.

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In the United States and many other countries, different family members are honored on special holidays.

Mother’s Day, Second Sunday in May. Mother’s Day was first observed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Grafton, West Virginia, on May 10, 1908. Six years later, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May for public observance of the holiday. Mother’s Day was founded by Anna M. Jarvis of Philadelphia. It is now observed in countries all around the world, including England, France, Sweden, Denmark, India, China, and Mexico. Pink carnations are worn for a living mother and white if the mother is dead. Children honor their mothers on this day with gifts and visits.

Mothering Sunday, Fourth Sunday of Lent. This is an old custom of the English church. It is like Mother’s Day in that gifts are given to mothers, although its history is different.

Father’s Day, Third Sunday in June. Spokane, Washington, is said to be the first city that observed Father’s Day—in 1910. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Roses are the Father’s Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father is dead.

Children’s Day, Third Sunday in June. Protestant Sunday Schools throughout the United States devote their morning church services to children. This observance was formally begun by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1868 and later was adopted by other churches. It is thought to have begun in the Old World, where children carried flowering branches to church on May Day.

Feast of Dolls, March 3. The little girls in Japan display special dolls on Girls’ Doll Festival, or Hina-Matsuri. These dolls are handed down from mother to daughter and are very valuable. They represent the emperor and empress, knights and warriors, and court attendants. After being shown on this occasion, they are put away carefully until the next year.

Children’s Day, May 5. This festival, once set aside for the boys in Japan, now honors all children. Each boy in a household floats a huge cloth banner from a pole set up in the garden. The banner is in the shape of a carp, its round mouth open wide so that the wind will puff it up. The carp stands for strength and determination to the Japanese, because it swims upstream and leaps over waterfalls to lay its eggs.

National Grandparents Day, First Sunday after Labor Day. In 1978, President James E. Carter signed a bill making National Grandparents Day the newest family holiday in the United States. The day is celebrated with cards and visits.

Reviewed by William R. Keyser
Author, Days of the Week