美国的节假日

Holidays and Festivals 美国的节假日

I. New Year’s Day 新年

Welcoming the new year is one of the oldest and gayest customs the world over. In the United States, it is a legal holiday. The celebration of this holiday begins the night before——on New Year’s Eve. It i s a good time to make New Year’s decisions. In many places people stay up late to watch the old year out and the new year in. One of the biggest and most exciting places is Times Square in New York City. On the first day of the New Year, there are a lot of activities. Mummers Parade held in Philadelphia is one of the most popular New Year’s Day activities. The Rose Tournament is held in Pasadena, California.

Ⅱ. Martin Luther King’s Day (Third Monday of January)

马丁·路德·金诞辰纪念日（一月的第三个星期一）

Martin Luther King was a black minister, who became a great leader of the civil rights movement

in the 1950s and 1960s. On August 28, 1963, he led over 250,000 Americans on a march in Washington D.C. to fight for the Civil Rights Law to guarantee equality for all people, and delivered his best-known speech “I Have a Dream” before the Lincoln Memorial. The “dream” is a dream of fraternal love and equality for black and white.Thus he was awarded the Nobel Prize for peace in 1964. But he was tragically murdered four years later. Though he died, he was greatly respected and loved by the Americans, both white and black. By vote of Congress in 1968, the third Monday of every January is now a federal holiday in Marin Luther King’s honor.

Ⅲ. Lincoln’s Birthday (February 12) 林肯诞辰纪念日（2月12日）

Abraham Lincoln is one of America’s most admired presidents. He is truly a great hero, a man who lived out the American Dream that one can rise from the log house to the White House through honesty and hard work.In 1860, he became America’s sixteenth President, on January 1, 1863, President

Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which officially freed all slaves in the United States. He led the Northerners to fight the Civil War to victory and saved the Union. The famous Lincoln Memorial designed by Henry Bacon is situated in West Potomac Park, Washington D.C. as a symbol of liberty and justice.

Ⅳ. Valentine’s Day (February 14) 情人节（2月14日）

Valentine’s Day is a day for lovers, and one of the loveliest holidays in the United States. It is very popular to send cards decorated with hearts and flowers to express love. Sometimes they put their love message in a heart-shaped box of chocolate, or a bunch of flowers tied with red ribbons. Candy, perfume, jewelry or a picture with a Heart and Cupid (the Roman God of love) armed with bow and arrow are also sent to express love. Many couples arrange romantic dinners by candle light for this occasion. Universities also hold a Sweethearts’ Ball for the young students to celebrate the Valentine’s Day.