10. Alison made a calendar of important days. She put it on her bedroom wall. Please, read it and speak about Alison’s celebrations:

J anuary: Happy New Year!

# New Year's Day celebrates the start of a new year. Americans celebrate New Year's Day on the first day of January, but the celebration actually begins on Decem­ber 31, New Year's Eve, the night before New Year's Day. I like New Year's Eve, because my parents allow me to stay up until midnight. Some people stay up all night! We blow horns and whistles at midnight to announce the beginning of a new year. Some people shake hands, kiss, hug, sing, and shout "Happy New Year!"

# On January 15, Americans celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a minister who fought against racial discrimination. He said that a person's character is more important than the color of his skin. He is very important to me, because his hometown is Atlanta too. To remember Martin Luther King, many Americans go to church or participate in public ceremonies.

F ebruary: Will you be my Valentine?

# One of my favorite holidays is Valentine's Day. St Valentine is saint of people in love. We celebrate this holiday on February 14. It is a day of love and friendship. We send greeting cards to our sweet­hearts and friends and ask them to "Be My Valentine." This means "be my friend or love." But traditionally you must never write your name on it. We also decorate our classrooms with big red hearts and give red roses and chocolate to our sweethearts, friends and family.

M arch: Kiss me. I'm Irish!

# On March 17, Americans celebrate an Irish religious holiday, St. Patrick's Day. This is an important holiday for my family, because my grandparents are from Ireland. They're Irish immigrants. On St. Patrick's Day we decorate our houses, schools, and streets with green shamrocks. And we all wear something green. We say that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.

A pril: Happy Easter!

# Easter is celebrated on a Sunday in April or May. The week before Easter we color eggs. On Easter Sunday chil­dren wake up to find that the Easter Bunny has left them a basket of candy.

May: Have a happy Mother's Day!

# We honor our mothers on the second Sunday in May. This day is called Mo­ther's Day. I usually buy my Mom a nice greeting card and flowers. My Dad usu­ally makes a big dinner and we eat it together with our grandparents. It's our way of saying, "Thanks for being such a great Mom!"

# My birthday!

June : Happy Father's Day, Dad!

# We also honor our Dad, because he's great too! We celebrate Father's Day on the third Sunday in June. Natalie and I usually bring him breakfast in bed! And I buy him a greeting card and a new necktie.

July:

On July 4, the United States ce­lebrate Independence Day. It is called Independence Day, because on July 4, 1776, our founding fathers declared that the United States would be free and independent from England. We usually have a big picnic in our neighborhood and then we watch a fireworks display at night.

August: Happy birthday to Mom!

# Mom’s birthday (make something special for her!)

September: Good luck at school!

# School starts!

October: Trick or Treat!

Columbus Day: October 12. Christopher Columbus discovered America on October 12, 1492. At that time, many people in Europe thought that the world was flat and that if a ship sailed to the edge of the world, it would fall off! But Columbus believed the world was round and made the journey to America.

Halloween is one of the best holi­days for children. American children celebrate Halloween on October 31. Children wear masks and colorful cos­tumes. The most popular costumes are ghosts, witches, and skeletons. The chil­dren walk door to door in the neighborhood and shout "trick or treat" Most people give them a treat-candy or fruit. We also decorate our houses and schools in the traditional Halloween colors: orange and black. Popular decorations are witches, ghosts, skeletons, black cats and jack-o-lanterns. Jack-o-lanterns are pump­kins we carve to look like faces. Every­one tries to look scary on Halloween!

November: Happy Thanksgiving!

Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday in Novem­ber. This is a family holiday. We gather to give thanks for all the good things in our lives, We make a big turkey dinner. I always eat too much!

December: Merry Christmas!

Americans celebrate Christmas on December 25. Christmas is a religious holiday and one of the happiest holidays of the year, because it is the day that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We prepare for Christmas weeks before. We buy gifts for our family and friends. We choose a tree and decorate it with ornaments and lights. And we prepare special foods and cookies. Christmas is also the day that Santa Claus visits us and brings us presents in bright paper and ribbons. He delivers them on Christmas Eve, the night before Christmas, when we are sleeping.