14. 28. Holidays in the usa

Many people spend New Year's Day resting. That's because they've stayed up most of the night, greeting the new year! Some went to parties at friends' homes or at nightclubs. Others were out on the streets, throwing confetti and blowing noisemakers. Many people make New Year's resolutions (to eat less, to work more, etc.). Few people keep them.

In the 1950s and 1960s Martin Luther King, Jr., led the civil rights movement — the struggle for equal rights for black Americans. King was assassinated in 1968. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which falls in January, around King's birthday, is a time to celebrate the life and achievements of this great American.

Two other great Americans are honored on Presidents' Day. George Washington was the country's first president. Abraham Lincoln brought the country through the Civil War. Their birthdays were both in February and are cele­brated together.

Memorial Day honors American soldiers killed in war. There are many parades on Memorial Day. Memorial Day, which comes on the last Monday in May, is also the unof­ficial beginning of the summer vacation season. On Memo­rial Day, many people go to the beach.

The most important American holiday is the Fourth of July, or Independence Day. On July 4, 1776, the American colonies declared their independence from Britain. Many families celebrate the Fourth of July by having picnics and, at night, watching fireworks.

Labor Day honors the American worker. Just as Memo­rial Day means the beginning of summer, Labor Day, which falls on the first Monday in September, marks the end of summer. For many students, the school year starts the day after Labor day.

Columbus Day celebrates Christopher Columbus's ar­rival in the Americas in 1492. As Columbus was Italian, working for Spain, Columbus Day is especially important for many Italian-Americans and Hispanic-Americans.

Although Halloween, on October 31, is not an official holiday, it is a very special day. On Halloween, children dress in costume as all kinds of things — as witches, ghosts, monsters, pirates, TV characters, and even computers and cereal boxes. The windows of many houses havse Halloween decorations and jack-o'-lanterns. (Jack-o'-lanterns are pumpkins that have been carved with strange faces and have a candle inside.) The children go from house to house, knocking on doors and saying "trick or treat". The people in the houses give the children candy or some other treat. If they don't, the children might play a small trick on them!

Every year, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. Families and friends get together for a big feast. The meal usually includes roast turkey with stuffing and gravy, a sweet sauce made from cranberries, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. What a meal! It's not surprising that a recent Thanksgiving tradition is to sit after dinner in front of the TV watching a professional football game.

Christmas, marking the birth of Christ in the Christian religion, is another time when many families get together. Christmas is an important time for giving gifts. In fact, people start buying gifts right after Thanksgiving, although Christmas is a month away. Many families put up a Christmas tree and bake lots of special Christmas cookies. Small children believe that their gifts come from Santa Claus. Their parents tell them that Santa lives in the North Pole and, on the night before Christmas, he travels the world in a sled pulled by reindeer. He goes down the chimneys of houses to leave gifts for children who have been good. Naturally, children are the first to get out of bed on Christmas morning!