07 – Traditions and Holidays in the USA

There are four basic types of holidays in the USA:

1. Official holidays

There are no officially stated federal holidays for the whole of the USA. Each state has its own strategy and list of the days
on which the schools, banks, offices and most shops are closed. Most states have holidays that are observed, but are not
necessarily ‘legal’ (i.e. offices are open, kids go to school). There are also special days in most states, they are proclaimed,
but no other effect otherwise. Generally, the following 10 national holidays are observed in almost all the 50 States:

Some official federal holidays fall on the same day each year; the actual dates of others are moved so that they fall on a
Monday to make it a longer weekend.

Perhaps the two ‘most American’ holidays are the Fourth of July (Independence Day) and Thanksgiving.

The Independence Day is like a big, national summer birthday party. Parades are extremely popular and may include
marching bands, fire trucks, clowns, horses, etc. Barbecues, picnics and the family beach parties are typical for this day –
the atmosphere of enjoyment is what makes this day so special for the Americans. The day is usually topped with stunning
displays of fireworks (the next day’s morning are marred by headaches and hangover).

Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday in November, is a day when

families come together giving thanks for their health, lives and family.
Traditional foods are cooked for this day – roast turkey, mashed
potatoes, gravy, fresh and cooked vegetables, breads and cranberry
sauce. A pumpkin pie is served for dessert. This is similar to the food
served at the first community meal the Puritans and Indians enjoyed
to celebrate the first settler’s survival. After the food has been has,
the family members gather in front of their TVs to watch American
football games. However, for many, this means falling asleep
straightaway after the big meal!
 2. Commercial holidays

Some of these holidays have been historically a part of American culture, while others have been introduced by industries
and businesses to boost sales of their respective goods and services. None of them are official holidays, i.e. no schools and
offices are closed.

Valentine’s Day (Feb 14) – Americans send sentimental greeting cards to their partners and friends, couples
normally enjoy a romantic dinner at a restaurant. In the not-so-distant past, people would buy a small advertisement space
in a newspaper to display a message to a special one.

The Groundhog Day (Feb 2) – this day has its roots in German and French
folklore. The legend says that when a groundhog (svišť) (or a woodchuck) comes
out of its den and sees no shadow, the spring is on its way. However, if the
groundhog sees its shadow, it gets scared and runs back ‘to bed’ – there will be
six more weeks of winter.

St Patrick’s Day (March 17) – many Americans celebrate this old,

traditional Irish holiday commemorating a saint who drove all the snakes out of
Ireland. ‘Everybody’s Irish on St Patrick’s day’ says the tradition. The holiday is celebrated with parades, wearing green
clothes and listening to marching bands.

Secretary’s Day (the last Wednesday of April) – was begun in 1952 to show appreciation to good, professional
secretaries, assistants, receptionists. The bosses are expected to give flowers, candy small gifts, and/or take them to
restaurant.

The Flag Day (June 14) – Americans are encouraged to wave their flag on this day. It commemorates the adoption of
the US on June 14, 1777.

Halloween (Oct 31) – it has become one of the biggest holidays of the year. Halloween is a modern tradition of the
old European All Saints’ Day (hence the name coming from ALL HALLOW’S EVE). Houses and yards are decorated in black
and orange. People of all ages dress up in costumes and some come to work and school wearing them. Children go around
the neighbourhood and look for houses decorated with curved pumpkins lit with a candle inside. It is a signal that they can
knock on the door shouting ‘Trick or Treat!’ and hoping to get sweets in return. Some more aware kids ask for small money
which is later donated to UNICEF.

3. Ethnic and Religious Holidays

Chinese New Year (between January 21 and February 19) – for Chinese-Americans, this is
the celebration marked by scaring off evil spirits by loud firecrackers, a parade by a cloth dragon
and people playing drums and gongs. Shop owners step out of their shops to give them money.

Cinco de Mayo (May 5) – a Mexican-American holiday to commemorate a battle of 1862

when Mexican beat 6000 French soldiers. These days, it celebrates the Mexican heritage and friendship between Mexicans
and Americans. Otherwise, it is business as usual with the majority of American holidays – bands playing, flags in the
streets, dancing and picnics.

Pow-wow (between March and August) – is Native Americans’ holiday. For some it is a
religious gathering, for others it is a social and cultural celebration. Tribe members wearing
traditional costumes sing songs, dance, drum and tell stories. Many events are open to public
to encourage people to join and learn about traditional Indian ways. Moreover, it is a perfect
way for the youth to learn about the old traditions in their families.
For many years the Christian Holidays of Christmas and Easter have been observed as national holidays (with offices
closed). There are also many other local religious holy days, but these vary from State to State and religion to religion.
Recently, with a strong wave of immigration, other faiths (Jews, Muslim, Buddhists, and Orthodox) have been fighting for
their right to observe some of their holy days. In States with a major number of immigration groups people are allowed to
stay out of work or school on some holy days, unlike the states with lower immigration population, where there is no such a
list of optional religious holidays.

4. Personal traditions and celebrations

At any time, families, communities, towns may begin their own kind of celebrations, i.e. family reunions, company dinners,
city parades to celebrate historical events, etc.

Church social is an old traditional gathering where church-goers meet to hold a worship service and then have a good old
food at picnics inside the building or outside, play games and socialise. Speaking of picnics, these have become very popular
with American families as well as individuals. Even businesses hold picnics for their staff. Before air-conditioning was
introduced to American houses, people tended to throw picnic parties in the evenings, when the sun cooled down. That is
why a majority of US houses have the porches (wooden platforms) attached to them.

Block parties is yet another public attended event held on the street which had been
closed for traffic by the City. It happens usually on Saturdays. The people of the
neighbourhood come out and bring food, drinks and good spirit. Music is played,
people dance or just chat the day away. Kids play games organised by adults.

Slumber parties is a very popular activity used mainly by teenage girls who meet at
one of the girls’ house. They then listen to music, eat junk food, chat and try to stay up as long as possible. In order to make
the slumber party successful, boys of the same age group must try to ‘crash the party’ by banging on the doors and
windows and try to enter the house.