Events and celebrations taking place during the year

January

January 26th Chinese New Year, The oldest and most important festival in China is the Spring Festival, more commonly known in the West as Chinese New Year. The most spectacular event of the Chinese New Year festivities is the Lion Dance. If there is a Chinatown in a city nearby, you can visit and watch the "lion" dancing through the streets. Be prepared for lots of firecrackers! Although celebrations of the Chinese New Year may vary, the underlying message is one of peace and happiness for family members and friends. Visit www.new-year.co.uk/chinese for your fortune and more information about this celebration.

February

February 1st The Super Bowl, is the annual American Football championship and a popular time for friends to gather in front of the TV. Last year, 86 million people watched the game! Besides football fans, the show attracts watchers for the half-time musical entertainment and also for the commercials. People will be talking about the commercials for days. Wondering what that's about? Watch ads from the past several years at http://www.superbowl-ads.com/2007/index.html

February 2nd Groundhog Day, Traditionally, the groundhog is supposed to wake up on February 2 and come up out of his burrow. If he sees his shadow, he will return to the burrow for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't see his shadow, he remains outside and starts his year, because he knows that spring has arrived early. German settlers brought this tradition to the U.S. It is based on Candlemas, a day that is halfway between the first day of winter and the first day of spring. In the U.S., the "official" groundhog is kept in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and is called "Phil." Though not based in science, it is a fun U.S. tradition. Visit http://www.groundhog.org to learn more about Punxsutawney Phil

February 11th International Pancake Race, The first International Pancake Race was held on this day in 1950 in Kansas. The women in the race wear dresses and aprons and cover their heads in scarves to run a 415-yard (380 meter) course. Each woman also carries a pancake in a skillet and must toss the pancake three times.

February 24th Mardi Gras, French for "Fat Tuesday," marks the end of Carnival and the beginning of the Christian fasting of Lent. The biggest Mardi Gras celebration in the U.S. is in New Orleans, Louisiana. Rio de Janeiro in Brazil also has a huge celebration.

February 25th Ash Wednesday, in Christian churches, is the first day of the penitential season of Lent. On Ash Wednesday some Christians have a smudge of ashes placed on their foreheads as a sign of penitence.

March

March 17th St. Patrick's Day, The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about 385 AD. He died on March 17 in 461 AD. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since. St. Patrick is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. Of course, no snakes were ever native to Ireland. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday. One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock, which stems from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

April

April 23rd St. George's Day, St George (died about 303), Christian martyr and patron saint of England, born in Cappadocia (eastern Asia Minor). His life is obscured by legend, but his martyrdom at Lydda, Palestine, is generally considered a matter of historical fact, testified to by two early Syrian church inscriptions and by a canon of Pope Gelasius I, dated 494, in which St George is mentioned as one whose name was held in reverence. The most popular of the legends that have grown up around him relates his encounter with the dragon. A pagan town in Libya was victimized by a dragon (representing the devil), which the inhabitants first attempted to placate by offerings of sheep, and then by the sacrifice of various members of their community. The daughter of the king (representing the Church) was chosen by lot and was taken out to await the coming of the monster, but George arrived, killed the dragon, and converted the community to Christianity. In 1222 the Council of Oxford ordered that his feast, on April 23, be celebrated as a national festival, and in the 14th century he became the patron saint of England and of the Order of the Garter, despite the absence of any historical connection between him and England.

June

June 19th Father's Day, Father's Day is a celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting, and to honor and commemorate fathers and forefathers. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, and special dinners to fathers and family-oriented activities. It originated in Spokane, Washington. Sonora Dodd, of Washington, first had the idea of a "father's day." She thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. The first observance of Father's Day is believed to have been held on July 5 1908 at a church in Fairmont, West Virginia, by Dr. Robert Webb at the Central United Methodist Church of Fairmont. The rose was selected as the official Father's Day flower, and some suggest that people wear a white rose to honor a father who is deceased, and a red one for a father who is living.

July

July 1st Canada Day, is Canada's national holiday, marking the establishment of Canada as a Dominion on July 1, 1867. Canada Day is often referred to as "Canada's birthday," particularly in the popular press. It is a day off from work, so is often a time for outdoor activities to welcome the beginning of summer.

July 4th Independence Day, was first celebrated on July 8, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was read to the public, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Though it is the Constitution that provides the legal and governmental framework for the United States, the Declaration, with its eloquent assertion "all Men are created equal," is equally beloved by the American people. On the Declaration's first anniversary, many citizens of Philadelphia had a spontaneous July 4th celebration. But it wasn't until after the War of 1812 that observing Independence Day became commonplace.

By the 1880s, the Fourth of July had become the most significant patriotic occasion in the United States. Independence Day became legal federal holiday in 1941, so all non-essential federal institutions (like the postal service and federal courts) are closed on that day. Many politicians make it a point on this day to appear at a public event to praise the nation's heritage, laws, history, society, and people.

Families often celebrate Independence Day by hosting or attending a picnic or barbecue and take advantage of the day off and, in some years, long weekend to gather with relatives. Decorations (e.g., streamers, balloons, and clothing) are generally colored red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag. Parades often are in the morning, while fireworks displays occur in the evening at such places as parks, fairgrounds, or town squares. Independence Day fireworks are often accompanied by patriotic songs such as the national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner", "God Bless America", "America the Beautiful", "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", "This Land Is Your Land", "Stars and Stripes Forever", and, regionally, "Yankee Doodle" in northeastern states and "Dixie" in southern states. Some of the lyrics recall images of the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812.

A salute of one gun for each state in the United States, called a salute to the union, is fired only on Independence Day at noon.