In America a holiday is a day set aside by our nation to celebrate a given event. Usually is has some special cultural observance. In United States is also where the government and most financial institutions close for the day, which at times can be extremely
frustrating. Although we have several holidays each year, there are only three major holidays the several books have been written on collectible aspects, which are Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas
The Halloween Holiday
Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year holiday on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. Which is the night of October 31.
It should be noted the custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have originated not with the Irish Celts, but with a ninth-century European custom called souling. On November 2 holiday, All Souls Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes," made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. At the time, it was believed that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by strangers, could expedite a soul's passage to heaven.
Part of the holiday, the Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from Irish folklore. As the tale is told, a man named Jack, who was notorious as a drunkard and trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, trapping the devil up the tree. Jack made a deal with the devil that, if he would never tempt him again, he would promise to let him down the tree.
Thanksgiving Holiday
The first American Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated in 1621, to commemorate the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony after a harsh winter. In that year Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. The colonists celebrated it as a traditional English harvest feast, to which they invited the local Wampanoag Indians.
Days of thanksgiving were celebrated throughout the colonies after fall harvests. All thirteen colonies did not, however, celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday at the same time until October 1777. George Washington was the first president to declare the holiday, in 1789.
By the mid–1800s, many states observed a Thanksgiving holiday. Meanwhile, the poet and editor Sarah J. Hale had begun lobbying for a national Thanksgiving holiday. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, looking for ways to unite the nation, discussed the subject with Hale. In 1863 he gave his Thanksgiving Proclamation, declaring the last Thursday in November a day of thanksgiving.
The Christmas Holiday
Christmas is an annual holiday that marks the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Christmas combines the celebration of Jesus' birth with various other non-related traditions and customs, many of which were influenced by ancient winter festivals. Christmas traditions include the display of Nativity scenes, Holly and Christmas trees, the exchange of gifts and cards, and the arrival of Father Christmas (Santa Claus) on Christmas Eve. Popular Christmas themes include the promotion of goodwill, giving, compassion, and quality family time.
Christmas Day falls on December 25. It is preceded by Christmas Eve on December 24, and in some countries is followed by Boxing Day holiday on December 26. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on January 6, while some Eastern Orthodox Churches (old rite or old style Orthodox) celebrate Christmas on January 7, the date on the Gregorian calendar which corresponds to 25 December. The date as a
birth date for Jesus is merely traditional, and is not widely considered to be his actual date of birth.
Christmas is celebrated in most countries around the world, owing to the spread of Christianity and Western culture. Various local and regional Christmas holiday traditions are still practiced. You will find many holiday books Delve Bookstore. Please enjoy they many treasures you will find in them. |
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