America is the coming together of many traditions. This means that the holidays have many different roots in different places. Here are the origins behind some of America’s biggest holidays.
Thanksgiving
Today, Thanksgiving is a common tradition of giving thanks and having a feast that incorporates turkey. The holiday’s origins can be traced back to 1621, when pilgrims and people from the Wampanoag tribe had a meal together to symbolize peace.
Christmas
Christmas may be the biggest holiday of the year around the globe, but its origins are different from what many would expect. The original holiday was created around the winter solstice to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, while the Pagan celebration of Saturnalia faded and became part of the same holiday.
Columbus Day
Columbus Day was established to celebrate the founding of America by Christopher Columbus. Recently, changes to the name have been tried to be put in place, renaming it Indigenous People’s Day since plenty of local people living in America already.
Easter
Easter, much like Christmas, is a mixture of Pagan and Christian holidays that were integrated into one holiday. Rabbits and eggs represent many Pagan symbols of fertility and rebirth. The main celebration of the holiday is the birth of Jesus Christ.
Halloween
Nowadays, kids generally celebrate Halloween. They dress up in costumes and go around the neighborhood collecting candy. However, Halloween’s origins come from the pagan festival of Samhain. It was believed that people were closer to the dead on this day, which coincided with the harvest at the end of summer.
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is celebrated to honor the men and women who died in service to the United States Military. While it only became a federal holiday in 1971, many recognized it after the American Civil War, when many put flowers on the graves of soldiers to commemorate them.
Labor Day
Labor Day is celebrated as a celebration of social and economic achievements for American workers. It became a federal holiday in 1894, but tensions didn’t end immediately. Just two years later, the Haymarket Riot occurred. Thankfully, the labor unrest ended shortly after.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. was an important and influential figure who fought for civil rights and equality. The holiday was proposed after he was assassinated, but the federal holiday was only established in 1983 to honor the principles that drove the influential figure.
St. Patrick’s Day
Today, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by going out in green and drinking beer, but the origins of the holiday aren’t as joyous. The holiday celebrates St. Patrick, now a patron saint of Ireland, who escaped slavery from the Romans occupying Ireland and began converting many pagan locals into Christians. He helped build many monasteries and was responsible for spreading the word of Christianity throughout Ireland.
Sources:
How Holidays In The United States Actually Came To Be
Annual Observances
