World Holidays and Observances

(Information from https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/labor-day-1 and https://www.dol.gov/general/laborday/history)

About Labor Day

Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894.

In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages. People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks.

As manufacturing increasingly supplanted agriculture as the wellspring of American employment, labor unions, which had first appeared in the late 18th century, grew more prominent and vocal. They began organizing strikes and rallies to protest poor conditions and compel employers to renegotiate hours and pay.

The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September, caught on in industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it. Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later, when a watershed moment in American labor history brought workers’ rights squarely into the public’s view. On May 11, 1894, employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. To break the Pullman strike, the federal government dispatched troops to Chicago, unleashing a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen workers. In the wake of this massive unrest and in an attempt to repair ties with American workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday. 

How Labor Day is Observed

The form that the observance of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday—a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for workers and their families. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed on the economic and civic significance of the holiday. 

Labor Day is still celebrated in cities and towns across the United States with parades, picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays and other public gatherings. For many Americans, particularly children and young adults, it represents the end of the summer and the start of the back-to-school season.

(Information from https://www.britannica.com/topic/yamim-noraim)

About Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashana, a major Jewish observance now accepted as inaugurating the religious New Year on Tishri 1 (September or October). Because the New Year ushers in a 10-day period of self-examination and penitence, Rosh Hashana is also called the annual Day of Judgment; during this period each Jew reviews his relationship with God, the Supreme Judge. 

Rosh Hashana is also known as the Day of Remembrance, for on this day Jews commemorate the creation of the world, and the Jewish nation recalls its responsibilities as God’s chosen people.

How Observers Celebrate Rosh Hashanah

A distinctive feature of the liturgy is the blowing of the ram’s horn (shofar) as prescribed in Numbers 29:1; the notes of the shofar call the Jewish people to a spiritual awakening associated with the revelation to Moses on Mount Sinai. During the Additional Service in the synagogue, the shofar is sounded after the recital of each of three groups of prayers.

On the first night of Rosh Hashana a New Year’s custom dictates that delicacies be prepared as omens of good luck. On the following night bread and fruit, dipped in honey, are customarily eaten, and a special blessing is recited. Rosh Hashana is the only festival observed for two days in Israel.

How to Acknowledge Rosh Hashanah to Observers

Jews greet each other on Rosh Hashanah with the Hebrew phrase “L’shana tovah,” which translates to “for a good year.” This is a shortened version of the Rosh Hashanah salutation “L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem” (“May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year”).

(Information from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Navratri)

About Navratri

Navratri, (Sanskrit: “Nine Nights”) in Hinduism, major festival held in honor of the divine feminine. Navratri occurs over 9 days during the month of Ashvin, or Ashvina (in the Gregorian calendar, usually September–October). It often ends with the Dussehra (also called Vijayadashami) celebration on the 10th day.

How Navrati is Observed

Navratri is celebrated differently in India’s various regions. For many people it is a time of religious reflection and fasting, while for others it is a time for dancing and feasting.

(Information from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yom-Kippur)

About

Yom Kippur, most solemn of Jewish religious holidays, observed on the 10th day of the lunar month of Tishri (in the course of September and October), when Jews seek to expiate their sins and achieve reconciliation with God. Yom Kippur concludes the “10 days of repentance” that begin with Rosh Hashana (New Year’s Day) on the first day of Tishri. The Bible refers to Yom Kippur as Shabbat Shabbaton (“Sabbath of Solemn Rest,” or “Sabbath of Sabbaths”) because, even though the holy day may fall on a weekday, it is on Yom Kippur that solemnity and cessation of work are most complete. The purpose of Yom Kippur is to effect individual and collective purification by the practice of forgiveness of the sins of others and by sincere repentance for one’s own sins against God.

How Observers Mark Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur is marked by abstention from food, drink, and sex. Among Orthodox Jews the wearing of leather shoes and anointing oneself with oil are forbidden. Orthodox Jews may wear long white robes called kittel.

Jewish congregations spend the eve of Yom Kippur and the entire day in prayer and meditation. On the eve of Yom Kippur the Kol Nidre is recited. Famous for its beautiful melody, the Kol Nidre is a declaration annulling all vows made during the course of the year insofar as they concern oneself (obligations toward others are excluded). Friends also ask and accept forgiveness from one another for past offenses on the evening before Yom Kippur, since obtaining forgiveness from one’s fellows signifies God’s forgiveness. God is believed to forgive the sins of those who sincerely repent and show their repentance by improved behavior and performance of good deeds.

The services on Yom Kippur itself last continuously from morning to evening and include readings from the Torah and the reciting of penitential prayers. Yizkor, which are memorial prayers for the recently deceased, may also be recited by members of the congregation. The services end with closing prayers and the blowing of the ritual horn known as the shofar.

How to Acknowledge Yom Kippur to Observers

“Have an easy fast” is the appropriate way to wish someone well for Yom Kippur. It is not appropriate to wish people a Happy Yom Kippur; it's not a happy holiday.

(Information from https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving)

About Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

How Thanksgiving is Observed

In many American households, the Thanksgiving celebration has lost much of its original religious significance; instead, it now centers on cooking and sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends. Turkey, a Thanksgiving staple so ubiquitous it has become all but synonymous with the holiday, may or may not have been on offer when the Pilgrims hosted the inaugural feast in 1621. Today, however, nearly 90 percent of Americans eat the bird—whether roasted, baked or deep-fried—on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Volunteering is a common Thanksgiving Day activity, and communities often hold food drives and host free dinners for the less fortunate.

Parades have also become an integral part of the holiday in cities and towns across the United States. Presented by Macy’s department store since 1924, New York City’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the largest and most famous, attracting some 2 to 3 million spectators along its 2.5-mile route and drawing an enormous television audience. It typically features marching bands, performers, elaborate floats, and giant balloons shaped like cartoon characters.

Some Native Americans and others take issue with how the Thanksgiving story is presented to the American public, and especially to schoolchildren. In their view, the traditional narrative paints a deceptively sunny portrait of relations between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people, masking the long and bloody history of conflict between Native Americans and European settlers that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands. 

(Information from  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hanukkah)

About Hanukkah

Hanukkah, (Hebrew: “Dedication”) also spelled Ḥanukka, Chanukah, or Chanukkah, also called the Feast of Dedication, Festival of Lights, or Feast of the Maccabees, is a Jewish festival that begins on the Hebrew date of Kislev 25 (usually in December) and is celebrated for eight days. Hanukkah reaffirms the ideals of Judaism and commemorates in particular the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the lighting of candles on each day of the festival. Although not mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures, Hanukkah came to be widely celebrated and remains one of the most popular Jewish religious observances.

How Hanukkah is Observed

The celebration of Hanukkah includes a variety of religious and nonreligious customs. The most important of all is the lighting of the menorah, a candelabra with eight branches plus a holder for the shammash (“servant”) candle that is used to light the other eight candles. Olive oil was traditionally used for lighting the menorah, but it was replaced by candles, which are inserted in the menorah incrementally each night of the festival from right to left but are lit from left to right. A blessing is also offered while the candles are lit each night.  

There are also a number of nonreligious customs associated with Hanukkah. Potato pancakes (latkes), doughnuts (sufganiyot), and other treats fried in oil, which recall the miracle of the oil, are popular. Children receive presents and gifts of money (Hanukkah gelt), which is sometimes distributed in the form of chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil. Card playing is common, and children play a game with a four-sided top called a dreidel (Hebrew sevivon). On each side of the top is a Hebrew letter, which form the initials of the words in the phrase nes gadol haya sham, meaning “a great miracle happened there.” In modern Israel the letters of the dreidel were changed to reflect the translation “a great miracle happened here.”

In countries where Christmas rituals are widespread, some echoes of those rituals appear in Hanukkah celebrations. Some families, for example, exchange gifts or decorate their homes. The word Hanukkah in Hebrew also means “education,” and rabbis and Jewish educators try to instill in their congregants and students the notion that the holiday celebrates Jewish strengths, perseverance, and continuity.

How to Acknowledge Hanukkah to Observers

Happy Hanukkah!

(Information from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Las-Posadas and https://www.diversityresources.com/holiday-greetings-across-cultures/)

About Las Posadas

Las Posadas (Spanish for “The Inns”) is a religious festival celebrated in Mexico and some parts of the United States between December 16 and December 24. It commemorates the journey that Joseph and Mary made from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of a safe refuge where Mary could give birth to the baby Jesus. When they were unable to find lodging in Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary were forced to seek shelter in a stable, where the Christ Child was born.

How Observers Celebrate Las Posadas

Each evening during the festival, a small child dressed as an angel leads a procession through the streets of the town. The procession is primarily made up of children dressed in silver and gold robes carrying lit candles and images of Mary and Joseph riding a donkey. Adults, including musicians, follow the procession, which visits selected homes and asks for lodging for Joseph and Mary. Traditionally, the procession is always refused lodging, though the hosts often provide refreshments. At each stop, passages of scripture are read and Christmas carols are sung.

Mass is held each day after the procession, and, at the conclusion of the service, children break open piñatas filled with candy, toys, and, occasionally, money. The piñatas are usually crafted in the form of a star, which is said to have guided the Three Wise Men of biblical tradition to the newborn Jesus.

How to Acknowledge Las Posadas to Observers

It is customary to say Merry Christmas in Spanish: Feliz Navidad.

(Information from https://uk.usembassy.gov/americans-celebrate-christmas-with-many-traditions/  and http://www.religionfacts.com/christmas)

About Christmas

Christmas, celebrated by most Christians on December 25, commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, as narrated in the New Testament. 

How Christmas is Observed

Religious observances of Christmas center around special worship services, which are characterized by the extensive use of candlelight and are often held at midnight. Another popular semi-religious observance is singing Christmas carols, both in church and door-to-door in one's neighborhood.

Today, most Americans blend religious and secular customs with their own family traditions, often incorporating food, decorations and rituals from places they or their ancestors once called home. Roast turkey and ham are popular for Christmas dinner throughout the country, but depending on the region, so are tamales, roast goose with red cabbage, crawfish jambalaya, roast pork or a “Feast of Seven Fishes.”

In the Southwest, luminarias — lanterns made from brown paper bags weighted down with sand and illuminated by a lit candle — are displayed on Christmas Eve. Many Mexican Americans celebrate Las Posadas, a procession that re-enacts Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to bed down in Bethlehem. Swedish Americans hold St. Lucia festivals, and in Puerto Rico there are parrandas, where friends go from one house to the next singing traditional songs, “surprising” their friends and waking them with their music.

To some extent, non-Christian holidays celebrated at roughly the same time of year as Christmas — most prominently the African-American Kwanzaa and the Jewish Hanukkah — also blend into a broader “holiday season.”

How to Acknowledge Christmas to Observers

Merry Christmas.

(Information from  https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/special-report/chinese-new-year/)

About Lunar (Chinese) New Year and Lantern Festival

Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is commonly called “Lunar New Year,” because it is based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar and ends with the Lantern Festival, which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year’s Eve is known as chú xī. It literally means “Year-pass Eve.”

Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Chinese New Year has had an influence on new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction. These include Koreans (Seollal), Tibetans and Bhutanese (Losar), Mongolians (Tsagaan Sar), Vietnamese (Tết), and the Japanese before 1873 (Oshogatsu).

Chinese New Year has a varying date in the Gregorian calendar, usually falling between January 21 and February 20.   

Lunar New Year, day one of China’s lunisolar calendar, is within a day of the second new moon before the spring equinox moon phase. It's called Spring Festival, although it occurs in winter for most of China, because it "looks forward to spring."  

How Observers Celebrate Lunar New Year

Primary Chinese New Year activities include: 1) putting up decorations; 2) eating reunion dinner with family on New Year's Eve; 3) firecrackers and fireworks; and 4) giving red envelopes and other gifts.  

1. Chinese New Year Decorations — Lucky Red Items

Every street, building, and house where Spring Festival is celebrated is decorated with red, as red is believed to be an auspicious color. Most public decoration is done a month before, but home decoration is traditionally done on Chinese New Year's Eve.  

2. Chinese New Year's Eve — Family Time

Chinese New Year is a time for families to be together. The New Year's Eve dinner is called 'reunion dinner', and is considered the most important meal of the year. Like people waiting in New York’s Times Square to see the ball drop, Chinese people have the custom of staying up late on Chinese New Year's Eve to welcome the New Year's arrival. After reunion dinner, families often gather to watch the Spring Festival Gala, one of the most watched TV shows in China. 

3. Firecrackers and Fireworks at Chinese New Year

It has long been a Chinese tradition to set off firecrackers from the first minute of the New Year. Fireworks have increasingly been added to the cacophony.

4. Chinese New Year Gifts and Red Envelopes

People exchange gifts during the Spring Festival. The most common gifts are red envelopes, which have money in them. However, the significance is the red paper, not the money inside. Wrapping lucky money in red envelopes is expected to bestow happiness and blessings on the receivers. Hence, it’s impolite to open a red envelope in front of the person who gives it to you.

How to Acknowledge Lunar New Year to Observers

There are multiple blessings and greetings to be said during the Chinese New Year. The simplest way would be to just say “Happy New Year” or 新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè). Other greetings include:

• 过年好 guò nián hǎo – Happy New Year!

• 新年快乐，万事如意 xīn nián kuài lè, wàn shì rú yì – Happy New Year and may all go well with you.

• 新年快乐，阖家幸福 xīn nián kuài lè, hé jiā xìng fú – Happy New Year and wish you a happy family.

• 恭喜发财 gōng xǐ fā cái – Happy New Year, and wish you happiness and prosperity!

(Information from https://www.almanac.com/content/when-start-ramadan)

About Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is considered a holy month that honors the time when Allah, via the angel Gabriel, revealed the first verses of the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, to a caravan trader named Muhammad.

How Ramadan is Observed
Beginning at puberty, all Muslims (with certain exceptions, such as if one is ill, traveling, pregnant, elderly, etc.) take part in the month-long, dawn-to-sunset fast that is the hallmark of Ramadan. Muslims believe that fasting cleanses the body, and the practice reminds them of the suffering of the poor.

Eating and drinking (including water) is prohibited from dawn to sunset, and the day’s abstinence is offset by a pre-dawn meal called sehri and a nightly meal known as iftar. For iftar, many traditionally break the fast by first eating dates, as the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have done to break his fast. Foods traditionally served at iftar vary, but food is often shared with a poor family during Ramadan.

At the end of the 29- or 30-day fast (depending on the length of the lunar cycle) is Eid al-Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast), when there is much feasting and celebration!

How to Acknowledge Ramadan to Observers
Ramadan mubarak (“blessed Ramadan”)!

(https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ash-Wednesday-Christian-holy-day)

About Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday, in Western Christianity, the first day of Lent, occurring six and a half weeks before Easter (between February 4 and March 11, depending on the date of Easter). Ash Wednesday is a solemn reminder of human mortality and the need for reconciliation with God and marks the beginning of the penitential Lenten season. 

How Ash Wednesday is Observed

It is commonly observed with ashes and fasting. In the modern Roman Catholic Church, the ashes obtained by burning the palms used on the previous Palm Sunday are applied in the shape of a cross on the forehead of each worshipper on Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence, where only one full meal and no meat are to be consumed. Worship services are also held on Ash Wednesday in Anglican, Lutheran, and some other Protestant churches. Eastern Orthodox churches begin Lent on Clean Monday and therefore do not observe Ash Wednesday.

(https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/lantern-festival.htm)

About Lantern Festival

Celebrated on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month, the Lantern Festival traditionally marks the end of the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) period. 

How Observers Celebrate Lantern Festival

During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night carrying paper lanterns, and solve riddles on the lanterns. The lanterns can symbolize letting go of your past selves and getting new ones, which you will let go of the next year. The lanterns are almost always red to symbolize good fortune.

People will also go out to look at the moon, send up flying lanterns, fly bright drones, have a meal, and enjoy time together with family and friends in parks and natural areas. This festival should not to be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival; which is sometimes also known as the "Lantern Festival" in locations such as Singapore and Malaysia. 

How to Acknowledge Spring Lantern Festival to Observers
Happy Lantern Festival! 元宵节快乐！Yuánxiāojié kuàilè! /ywen-sshyaoww-jyeah kwhy-luh 

(Information from various sources)

About Easter

Easter Sunday commemorates the resurrection of Jesus, as recounted in the New Testament.  The date of celebration varies from March to April, depending on the date of the March equinox. Easter Sunday is preceded by Good Friday, a solemn day, which recalls Jesus' death on the cross. The previous Sunday, Palm Sunday, recalls Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem one week before his execution. Easter marks the conclusion of Lent, a 40-day period of spiritual preparation for Easter which begins with Ash Wednesday, and typically involves fasting, penance, and prayer.

How Observers Celebrate Easter

Many Christians begin the celebration with an Easter Vigil the night before, sometimes called Easter Eve or Holy Saturday. Church services on Sunday typically follow regular church service tradition with a sermon or songs concerning the Easter story. Some churches hold mass or other services at sunrise. Churches are often decorated with flowers. A significant theme for Easter is rebirth, which flowers can emulate and symbolize. Traditional Easter flowers include Easter Lilies, which are believed to have grown in the Garden of Gethsemane, the site of Jesus’s arrest.

Other common traditions include: the Easter egg hunt, a tradition that originated with pagan spring festivals. Like many pagan traditions, Christians intertwined the practice with religious significance. Easter egg hunts feature candy eggs or decorated hard-boiled eggs hidden by the mythical Easter bunny. Eggs are also part of the tradition because of the ban on eggs during Lent in Medieval Europe, meaning they were often included in the Sunday feast.

How to Acknowledge Easter to Observers

Happy Easter!

(Information from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Easter-holiday)

About Orthodox Easter

Easter, principal festival of the Christian church, which celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion. 

Eastern Orthodox churches use a slightly different calculation based on the Julian rather than the Gregorian calendar (which is 13 days ahead of the former), with the result that the Orthodox Easter celebration usually occurs later than that celebrated by Protestants and Roman Catholics. Moreover, the Orthodox tradition prohibits Easter from being celebrated before or at the same time as Passover.

How Observers Celebrate Orthodox Easter

In the Christian calendar, Easter follows Lent, the period of 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter, which traditionally is observed by acts of penance and fasting. Easter is immediately preceded by Holy Week, which includes Maundy Thursday, the commemoration of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples; Good Friday, the day of his Crucifixion; and Holy Saturday, the transition between Crucifixion and Resurrection. Liturgically, Easter comes after the Great Vigil, which is observed the evening of Holy Saturday until sunrise on Easter Sunday. 

Easter, has accumulated a great many traditions, including the custom of the Easter lamb and decorated eggs. In the Orthodox tradition eggs are painted red to symbolize the blood Jesus shed on the cross.

How to Acknowledge Easter to Observers

Happy Easter!

(Information from https://www.ushmm.org/remember/days-of-remembrance/resources/calendar)

About Yom Hashoah

In Hebrew, Holocaust Remembrance Day is called Yom Hashoah. The internationally recognized date for Holocaust Remembrance Day corresponds to the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. It marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

When Yom Hashoah is Observed

When the actual date of Yom Hashoah falls on a Friday, the state of Israel observes Yom Hashoah on the preceding Thursday. When it falls on a Sunday, Yom Hashoah is observed on the following Monday. In the United States, Days of Remembrance runs from the Sunday before Yom Hashoah through the following Sunday.

(Information from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vesak)

About Vesak

The most important of the Theravada Buddhist festivals, commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha.

How Vesak is Observed

The event is observed on the full-moon day of the lunar month Vesakha, which falls in April or May. The day is observed as a public holiday in many Southeast Asian countries. It is marked by special devotional services and various deeds intended to be meritorious, such as the presentation of food or alms to monks or the release of captive birds.

(Information from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cinco-de-Mayo)

About Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo, (Spanish: “Fifth of May”) holiday celebrated in parts of Mexico and the United States in honor of a military victory in 1862 over the French forces of Napoleon III.

How Cinco de Mayo is Celebrated

The day is celebrated in the state of Puebla with parades, speeches, and reenactments of the 1862 battle, though it is not much noticed in most of the rest of the country. In the mid-20th-century United States, the celebration of Cinco de Mayo became among Mexican immigrants a way of encouraging pride in their Mexican heritage.

(Information from https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history)

About Memorial Day

Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries. By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.

On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars.

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

How Memorial Day is Observed

Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season. Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some people wear a red poppy in remembrance of those fallen in war—a tradition that began with a World War I poem, “In Flanders Field.”

(Information from CNN website)

About Eid al-Adha

Eid al-Adha or Eid Qurban, also called the "Festival of the Sacrifice," is one of the most important holidays of the Islamic calendar, and marks the height of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It commemorates the story in the Quran of God appearing to Ibrahim— also known as Abraham―in a dream and commanding him to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience. Muslims believe that as Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son, God stopped his hand and gave him a sheep or ram in place of his son. A version of the story also appears in the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament. To commemorate God's test of Ibrahim, many Muslim families have an animal slaughtered—often through their local butcher—and distribute the meat to family, neighbors and the poor.

How Observers Celebrate Eid al-Adha

The four-day religious holiday begins on the third day of the annual Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims who are physically and financially able are required to undertake once in their lifetime. The day begins with morning prayers. The celebrations continue with visits to friends and family, exchanges of gifts and feasts.

While Eid al-Adha is always on the same day of the Islamic calendar, the date on the Gregorian calendar varies from year to year since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and is approximately eleven days shorter than the solar calendar.

How to Acknowledge Eid al-Adha

Eid Mubarak (pronounced EED muh-BAR-ack) which translates as “have a blessed festival,” and Eid Saeed (“Happy Eid”) are routine greetings used during the observance to offer best wishes.

(Information from https://www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth and https://www.britannica.com/topic/Juneteenth)

About Juneteenth

Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. On June 17, 2021, it officially became a federal holiday. 

Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered at Appomattox Court House two months earlier in Virginia, but slavery had remained relatively unaffected in Texas—until U.S. General Gordon Granger stood on Texas soil and read General Orders No. 3: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

How Juneteenth is Celebrated
Juneteenth celebrations in the United States typically include prayer and religious services, speeches, educational events, family gatherings and picnics, and festivals with food, music, and dancing. The day is also celebrated outside the United States and is used to recognize the end of slavery as well as to celebrate African American culture and achievements.