Holidays are days in which we celebrate or remember something that happened. Some holidays are very important, such as Christmas, while some are not, such as St. Patricks day. Many of these holidays are day's that we remember something or someone from the past.
Christmas is a holiday celebrated because of the birth of Jesus. A holiday where we give and receive gifts to show appreciation to the people in our family and to show thanks for being here on earth.
Christmas has a religious and a commercial side. Santa Claus started out as a Bishop named Nicholas, but now is strickly a non-religious figure. Some countries who do not celebrate the birth of Christ, do have Santa Claus and lightes and gift giving.
Hanukah is a somewhat important holiday in the Jewish religion, it celebrates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian army. After their victory they entered the Holy Temple which is located in Jerusalem. When they entered the temple they found it trashed, and their were idols everywhere. They soon cleansed the Temple of all the garbage. During the cleansing they located a small vial of oil that should have lasted for only one night. The miracle is that the oil lasted for eight nights.
Today Hanukkah is sort of like the Christmas for Jews. Though the holiday is ever changing because the solar and the lunar calendars are never at the same day. The gift giving tradition started mainly because a lot of the kids were angry that they didn't get presents like there Catholic or Christian friends. So the tradition began and now gift giving is a staple for Chanukah. The sad part of this is how commercialized the holiday is. Though it is not as bad as Christmas, it is definitely prevalent in today's society.
(Did you notice that there are many, many ways to spell Hanukah?)
St. Patrick's Day is an Irish holiday. This particular holiday celebrates a man by the name of St. Patrick who was a slave in Ireland. He later escaped. He wanted to bring Christianity to Ireland but he did not. He is most known for getting rid of the snakes in Ireland. But most likely there weren't any snakes in Ireland in the first place. It is said just to be a myth. The reason St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, is because this is the day St. Patrick died. The point of St. Patrick's Day is to share prayer with missionaries all around the world. When people immigrated from Ireland they brought everything with them, including their holidays and traditions. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated throughout America and other countries'. St. Patrick's Day is not only a Irish holiday, but a holiday celebrated worldwide! In the Chicago area there is a parade and a lot of celebrating. The Chicago river is even died green for the occasion!
Easter, like Christmas, is a Christian holiday. Easter, on the other hand, was not originated by Christians. Actually this particular holiday was created by the Saxons. Once spring arrived, the Saxons celebrated their goddess Eastre.
The Christians tried to turn the Saxons' religion into Christianity and they did so. The holiday of Eastre occurred the same day as The Resurrection of Christ. These two holidays were soon combined together. Later the name was changed to a more suitable name for both holidays, Easter.
The Easter Bunny was also originated by the Saxons. The bunny was a symbol of a earthly creator as their goddesses were. People from Germany soon brought the Easter Bunny to America.
The Easter Egg was originated by Christians. They believe that it predates the holiday itself. In fact, many cultures use eggs as a spring symbol and have done so for many centuries.
America's freedom! On the day of July 4th the U.S. got their freedom. This day is so unforgettable because, it was the day the United States of America became, "The Land Of The Free and The Home of The Brave"! We celebrate the 4th of July with our patriotic colors of red, white, and blue to let all of the people of America know exactly what America means to them.