Life Style / Holiday Glossary

100th Day of School: The 100th Day of school is celebrated to mark the halfway point of the school year. Generally falls in February, depending on when your school years begins and ends. Special projects, having . . . View Full Definition

Advent: Advent means arrival. To Christians it means the four weeks leading up to Christmas. In some homes special candle holders, or Advent wreaths are displayed holding four candles. One candle is . . . View Full Definition

All Souls-Saints Day: November first, All Saints' Day, celebrates: all saints, known and unknown, according to Pope Urban IV, who formalized the commemoration. The day, which is a legal holiday in France, dates b . . . View Full Definition

Anzac Day: Anzac Day, a public holiday in Australia and New Zealand, commemorates the landing at Gallipoli in 1915 of the two countries' fighting men, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, during . . . View Full Definition

April Fools Day: Playing tricks on April 1 dates back a long way. In early European history there was an event called Feast of Fools where people switched their usual roles around so a master might be servin . . . View Full Definition

Arbor Day: The Latin word arbor means tree. J. Stanley Morton, in the 19th century in Nebraska came up with the idea of planting trees as a way to celebrate spring growth in his nearly treeless state. . . . View Full Definition

Ash Wednesday: The first day of Lent, between February 3 and March 5. Ash Wednesday is the seventh Wednesday before Easter. Some churchgoers are marked with ashes in the shape of the cross on this day. The . . . View Full Definition

Australia Day: Australia Day commemorates the founding of the first white settlement in Australia in 1788. Celebrated on January 26.

Autumn Equinox: The Autumn equinox and the spring equinox are the two days in the year when the hours of daylight and darkness are exactly equal. Celebrated on September 22 or 23.

Baisakhi: Known as the Solar New Year considered to be a spring New Year's celebration for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs from Lri Lanka, Bangladesh and India. Important religious festivity, parti . . . View Full Definition

Black History Month: Black History Month started in 1926 in the United States as Negro History Week. February was chosen because both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass have birthdays in that month. Organiza . . . View Full Definition

Bon Chol Chhanam: People from Kampuchea [formerly known as Cambodia] celebrate their New Year, Bon Chol Chhnama, at this time of year. It is the beginning of the rainy season when the work of harvesting the o . . . View Full Definition

Boxing Day: English custom of giving Christmas boxes containing food or money to family servants and suppliers. Celebrated in Britain and Canada on December 26.

Burns Night: In many parts of the world, Burns Night is the most celebrated Scottish event. Scots gather to celebrate Robert (Robbie) Burns honored Scottish poet born on this day in 1759. The traditional . . . View Full Definition

Canada Day: Canada Day celebrates the events that occurred on July 1, 1867, when the British North America Act created the Canadian federal government. The BNA Act proclaimed 'one Dominion under the nam . . . View Full Definition

Canadian Thanksgiving: The second Monday in October Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving. The Sunday before Thanksgiving Monday is often marked at Christian churches by services thanking God not only for the harvest o . . . View Full Definition

Chanukah: The Jewish festival of Chanukah falls around the time of the winter solstice and is often called The Festival of Lights. It is celebrated by lighting special candles each day at sundown. Cha . . . View Full Definition

Chinese Dragon Boat Festival: This ancient Chinese festival was once an outdoor boat race where dragon-shaped boats raced, symbolizing a real dragon fight in the heavens, to bring heavy rains. The festival took place aft . . . View Full Definition

Chinese New Year: Chinese New Year is actually two celebrations. New Years' and a birthday. According to Chinese tradition, everyone's birthday is celebrated on New Year's Day. The Chinese calendar is lunisol . . . View Full Definition

Ching Ming: In China, Ch'ing Ming, the Clear and Bright Festival, is celebrated 106 days after the winter solstice. Celebrated on April 5.

Christmas Day: Christmas day is the most widely observed Christian festival of the year. It celebrates Jesus Christ's birth. Though the real historical date of the birth of Jesus is unknown, the church dec . . . View Full Definition

Christmas Eve: Many families celebrate Christmas Eve with dinners, visiting and carol-singing, followed by midnight church services. Norwegians say that Christmas Peace descends at 4 o'clock in the afterno . . . View Full Definition

Cinco de Mayo: Cinco de Mayo celebrates a victory by the Mexican Army over the French Army in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Today, people celebrate Cinco de Mayo in a big way. They have festivals, d . . . View Full Definition

Citizenship Day - Canada: Citizenship Day in Canada has been held on the Friday before Victoria Day since 1958. Canada's Citizenship Act came into being on January 1, 1947 and the first official Citizenship Day was M . . . View Full Definition

Columbus Day: Latin Americans and Hispanics celebrate October 12 as the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's discovery of the New World. In the Latino and Hispanic communities it is known as Dia de la Ra . . . View Full Definition

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