As with many American holidays, Halloween was originally an attempt to combine ancient traditions with Catholic-sanctioned celebrations. Halloween was a Celtic practice which celebrated New Year. During the ancient times, the Celts believed that the souls of their dead ancestors return to earth on this day. With the passing of the centuries, the Halloween traditions of English colonials, particularly those of Irish descent, and American Indians meshed together to form a distinct set of American Halloween traditions. Click to continue »

 
 
Although history cannot exactly pinpoint the connection of Saint Valentine with the love-filled holiday, the Valentine’s Day, many customs, traditions and rites have developed over the centuries to celebrate the spirit of romantic as well as platonic love. In America, there are a number of these that had become widely accepted and on many cases, became formal excuses to celebrate love between romantic couples. Click to continue »

 
 
The human sacrifice invested in preserving the United States of America’s freedom as well as its greatness is remembered once a year, every last Monday of May, in a day called the Memorial Day.

Memorial Day was originally declared to honor the brave service of those people who died during the Civil War. Nowadays, it commemorates the men and women who died in all wars where the United States had its participation, namely the Spanish-American War, the two World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Dessert Storm. What many Americans do not realize is that the ultimate sacrifice of the patriots, soldiers and their families deserve not only a day every year, but active participation in remembering their deeds and heroism. It is often too easy to forget these with the passage of time. Click to continue »

 
 
If there is one holiday that is down-right American, excluding of course Independence Day and George Washington’s birthday, Thanksgiving Day is one that will surely top anyone’s list. On this particular day, American families gather indoors to celebrate what was originally a pagan ritual of giving thanks for a good harvest. Click to continue »

 
 
Easter is arguably the most important of all Christian holidays. After all, it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his death, without which Christianity may be devoid of its very essence. As such, it is often celebrated with festivity that is incomparable with other Christian holidays. Click to continue »

 
 
American New Year has no shortage of traditions, beliefs and customs thanks to its long history of observance. However, few of us know that these traditions did not originally root from American traditions. In fact, the tradition of celebrating New Year itself did not originate from American culture. It began as far back as 2000 B.C. in Mesopotamia and in March for the rest of the world, in time with the vernal equinox which normally occurs around spring. Click to continue »

 
 
No other day in the American calendar of holidays is as patriotic as the Independence Day. This day commemorates the reading and signing of America’s Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Because of its significance, a number of observances and customs have been developed. Curiously, among them is the adaptation of the date itself. Click to continue »

 
 
The United States join the entire Christian world in celebrating the nativity of Jesus Christ every 25th of December. Although there are traditions that are unique to each state of America, the general celebration of American Christmas include traditions that were borrowed from many different cultures.
One of the most striking images of American Christmas is Santa Claus. Although very popular as an American icon of festive celebration and gift giving, the idea of “Santa” actually originated from Scandinavia. He’s been around since 17 centuries ago, but he was born in the United States only during the 1860’s when Dutch immigrants began calling him Santa Claus from their own Sinterklaas. Today’s Santa Claus was popularized by Thomas Naast’s caricatures published during the 19th century.
Another popular symbol of American Christmas is the Christmas tree. The tree, which is by large associated with the celebration of Christmas, actually began as a pagan custom that had nothing to do with Christmas at all. The Germans brought this tradition in America around the late 1700s and since then, the practice of displaying decorated authentic and plastic trees had become a custom during this season. Click to continue »