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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 pa-
rades 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
(see page 52). 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 be-
ginning 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 an especially
important holiday for many Italian-Americans and Hispanic-Americans.
Although Halloween, on October 31, is not an official holiday, it is a very spe-
cial 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 have Halloween decorations and jack-o'-lanterns. (Jack-o'-
lanterns are pumpkins that have been carved with strange faces and have a candle
inside.) In the evening, 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!
In 1620 one of the first British settlements in America was established in
Massachusetts. These settlers, known as Pilgrims, had come to America to
freely practice their religion. They arrived in November, when it was too late to
plant crops. Although many people died, the Pilgrim settlement survived the
winter because of help from Indians who lived nearby. The Indians taught the
Pilgrims about corn and showed them where to fish. The next November, after
the crops were harvested, the Pilgrims gave thanks to God at a feast to which
they invited the Indians.
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 an-
other time when many families get together. Christmas is an important time for
giving gifts. In fact, people start buying gifts right after Thanksgiving, al-
though Christmas is a month away. Many families put up a Christmas tree and
bake lots of special Christmas cookies.
