Research > Homework Center > Holidays & celebrations

Holidays & Celebrations

Megasites
Christmas
Cinco de Mayo
Día de los Muertos
Easter
Fourth of July
Halloween
Hanukkah
Harvest Celebrations
Juneteenth
Kwanzaa
Labor Day

Lent
Mardi Gras
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Memorial Day
New Year Celebrations
Passover
President's Day
Ramadan
St. Patrick's Day
Thanksgiving
Valentine's Day
Veterans Day

Megasites

Calendar Zone: http://www.calendarzone.com/

Cultural and religious calendars from around the world.
Celebrate! Holidays in the USA: http://www.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/

From the US Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, this site covers our national, religious, and ethnic celebrations and more.
Diversity Calendar: http://www3.kumc.edu/diversity/

The University of Kansas provides this diversity calendar including for example National Women's Heritage Month. Review holidays and celebrations by religion, ethic, national holidays and other.
Holidays Around the World: http://kids.yahoo.com/directory/Around-the-World/Holidays

Learn about many holiday celebrations all over the world. Includes holiday games, e-cards, and jokes.
Holidays on the Net: http://www.holidays.net/index2.htm

Choose and learn from many different cultural holidays.
Multi Cultural Calendar: http://www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ/MCC/

This keyword-searchable site contains entries which may provide recipes for holiday foods, historical background, significance of the holidays and the special ways in which these days are observed.

Christmas

Christmas Around the World: http://hoover.archives.gov/exhibits/christmasworld/intro.html

This site from the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Museum explains how Christmas is celebrated around the world, with a photo of a decorated Christmas tree from each country.
Christmas Around the World: http://www.soon.org.uk/country/christmas.htm

Learn how Christmas is celebrated around the world.
How Christmas Works: http://www.howstuffworks.com/christmas.htm

Learn the answers to many questions about Christmas and Santa Claus.
NORAD Tracks Santa Web Site: http://www.noradsanta.org

Learn answers to frequently asked questions about Santa, then find out where Santa is in the world on Christmas Eve!
Santa's Net Christmas Traditions: http://www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm

Learn how to say "Merry Christmas" in many languages, or read about Christmas traditions in other countries.

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo: http://www.nacnet.org/assunta/spa5may.htm

In English and Spanish, this site explains the history and significance of Cinco de Mayo.
Cinco de Mayo History: http://www.vivacincodemayo.org/history.htm

This site provides information about the holiday plus links to other Cinco de Mayo sites.

Día de los Muertos

Day of the Dead - Día de los Muertos: http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/feature/daydeadindex.html

This site provides photographs and information about the holiday plus recipes.
Day of the Dead - Mexican Crafts and Activities: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/dayofthedead/

Make a skeleton, ghost maze, and other crafts associated with this holiday.
Mixquic - The Day of the Dead and the Day of All Souls: http://www.mexconnect.com/MEX/austin/deadoct96.html

This site from the Mexican Consul General in Austin, Texas explains how the little town of Mixquic in Mexico celebrates these holidays.

Easter

The Date of Easter: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/easter.php

Learn how to calculate the date of Easter.
The Easter Bunny: http://www.holidays.net/easter/bunny1.htm

Learn about the history of the Easter Bunny.
The Easter Page: http://www.makedisciples.com/Easter/main.htm

Learn about Lent and Easter, music, scripture, Jerusalem, and Easter customs around the world. Provided by St. John's Lutheran Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
How Easter Works: http://www.howstuffworks.com/easter.htm

Find out about religious and commercial Easter customs and celebrations around the world.

Fourth of July

Halloween

Halloween: Facts and Misinformation: http://www.religioustolerance.org/hallowee.htm

From The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, this site presents the Christian and neo-pagan believes in Halloween, customs and traditions.

Hanukkah

Celebrate with JOI: Hanukkah: http://www.joi.org/celebrate/hanuk/

Listen to the Hanukkah blessings online, discover the history of the holiday, learn about the traditions of gelt, dreidels, menorah, and more. Then learn some Hanukkah songs and play some games.
Chanukkah: http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm

History, traditions, lights, recipes and songs about the holiday.
Chanukah: http://urj.org/holidays/chanuka/

A description of Chanukah, plus links to celebrations, Chanukah poetry, a calendar of Jewish holidays through 2007, links to other Jewish holidays, and more. Provided by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

August Moon Festival

August Moon Festival: http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/augustmoonfest.htm

Chinese harvest celebration.

Chusok

Chusok: http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/chusok.htm

Korean Thanksgiving and autumn festival.

Pongal

Pongal: http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/pongal.htm

South India's harvest celebration.

Succoth

Succoth: http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/succoth.htm

Jewish harvest celebration.
Sukkot: http://urj.org/holidays/sukkot/index.cfm?

About the Jewish harvest celebration, plus links to other Jewish holidays and calendar.Provided by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

Tet-Trung-Thu

Tet-Trung-Thu: http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/tettrungthu.htm

Vietnam's mid-August festival.

Yam Festival

Yam Festival: http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/yamfestival.htm

Ghana and Nigeria's harvest celebration.

Juneteenth

Juneteenth: http://www.juneteenth.com/

"Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery."
Juneteenth Celebration: A Local Legacy: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/es/tx/june_1

Learn the history of the Juneteenth celebration.

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa: African American Celebration: http://www.globalindex.com/kwanzaa/

What is Kwanzaa? Learn here!
Kwanzaa Information Center: http://www.melanet.com/kwanzaa/whatis.html#TOC

Learn about what kwanzaa is, it's symbols, principles, and more.

Labor Day

The History of Labor Day: http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm

The history of Labor Day.

Lent

The Season of Lent: http://www.catholic.org/clife/lent/faq.php

From Catholic Online, this site explains lenten history, Ash Wednesday, the stations of the cross, and Holy Week.

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mardigras1.html

Learn all about the celebration of Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Mardi Gras: http://people.howstuffworks.com/mardi-gras.htm

This site explains the history of Mardi Gras and how and when it is celebrated.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

The History of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday: http://www.factmonster.com/spot/mlkhistory1.html

This site explains the history of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/

This site Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
The Meaning of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday: http://www.thekingcenter.org/holiday/index.asp

Coretta Scott King explains the meaning of this national holiday.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day: http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/memorial/index.jsp

From the History Channel, this site has information about the history of Memorial Day, statistics about America's wars, and links to message boards where you can write a message to veterans and their families.
Memorial Day: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/memorialday1.html

Learn about the history of Memorial Day. Includes links to information about flag etiquette, casualties in various wars, war poems, and war movies.
Memorial Day: http://www1.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/

This site from the Department of Veterans Affairs has links to Memorial Day history and symbols, Memorial events, national cemeteries, and veterans statistics.
National Memorial Day Concert -: http://www.pbs.org/memorialdayconcert/

Information about the National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, D.C. with links to the holiday's meaning, stories from America's wars, and a place to write a remembrance of a loved one.

New Year Celebrations

New Year Megasites
Chinese New Year
Indian New Year
Losar
New Year's Eve
Rosh Hashanah
Shogatsu
Tet

New Year Megasites

New Year's Celebrations Around the World: http://www.topics-mag.com/internatl/holidays/new-years-page1.htm

Students from all over the world share their New Year celebrations.
New Year Traditions: http://www.fathertimes.net/traditions.htm

Learn how the New Year is celebrated around the world.
New Year: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year

Learn how and when the New Year was celebrated throughout history.

Chinese New Year

Celebration of the Chinese New Year: http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/festival/newyear/newyear.html

This site from the Chinese Cultural Center in San Francisco explains the traditional Chinese and American Chinese new year celebrations.
Chinese New Year: http://kids.yahoo.com/directory/Around-the-World/Countries/China/Cultures-and-Traditions/Holidays/Chinese-New-Year

This site about Chinese New Year celebrations has links to recipes, crafts, games, coloring pages, and more!
Chinese New Year: http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html

Explore the 15-day celebration, learn about traditional foods and decorations, and discover taboos and superstitions.
Kids Corner: Chinese Zodiac Signs: http://www.afk.com/resources/kidscorner

This site describes each of the Chinese zodiac sign and corresponding year.

New Year's Eve

Auld Lang Syne: http://www.chivalry.com/cantaria/lyrics/auldlang.html

Audio clips and words to this song.
A Moment in Time: When Did the New Millennium Begin?: http://wwp.greenwich2000.com/countdown/

Was it 1.1.00 or 1.1.01? Read the ideas behind these beliefs at this site.
Beyond 2000: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngkids/9901/beyond-2000/

Predictions for the next millennium from National Geographic.
New Year's Eve: Times Square: http://www.timessquarenyc.org/nye/nye.html

Facts and information about New Year's Eve in Times Square. Includes a countdown clock online.
New Year's Eve in Times Square: History: http://www.timessquarenyc.org/nye/nye_history.html

Learn about the history of celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square. Link to an interactive timeline with photos of Times Square past and present.
Tiimes Square: New Year's Eve Ball: http://www.timessquarenyc.org/nye/nye_ball.html

Learn about the ball that begins its descent at 11:59 p.m. every New Year's Eve in Times Square.
Times Square Cams: http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/timessquare/

Web Cams showing Times Square in real time.

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah: http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday2.htm

Learn about the Jewish new year holiday here.

Shogatsu

O-Shogatsu: http://www.zuzu.org/japan.html

Learn about the Japanese new year holiday two children from New York who lived and went to school in Japan.
Shogatsu: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2064.html

Learn about the Japanese new year holiday here.

Tet

Tet: http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/tet.htm

Learn about the Vietnamese new year holiday here.
Tet: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week923/belief.html

Learn about the Vietnamese new year holiday at this PBS site.
Vietnamese New Year: http://www.fathertimes.net/vietnamesenewyear.htm

Learn about the Vietnamese new year holiday at this site.

Passover

Passover on the Net: http://www.holidays.net/passover/

This site explains the story of Passover, the seder meal, music, recipes, and RealAudio sound clips of Passover readings music and children's stories.
Pesach: Passover: http://www.jewfaq.org/holidaya.htm

From the Judaism 101 Web site, learn about the history and practices of Passover, including the seder meal and passover music.
Pesach: Passover: http://urj.org/holidays/pesach/index.cfm?

This site explains the history and practices of Passover, plus links to other Jewish holidays and a Jewish holiday calendar through 2007. Provided by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

President's Day

President's Day: http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/presday.html

Learn about President's Day at this site with links to fun things to make and do.
President's Day: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/presidentsday/

Take a quiz or make a log cabin, a star wreath, a patriotic pinwheel and other crafts to celebrate President's Day.
Presidents' Day Resources: http://mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/socialstd/features/presday.html

This site from Montgomery County Public Schools offers resources for students and teachers on President's Day, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and more.
Presidents' Day or Washington's Birthday?: http://www.factmonster.com/spot/washington1.html

Find out the history of of the Presidents' Day holiday.

Ramadan

Ramadan on the Net: http://www.holidays.net/ramadan/

Learn about the Ramadan holiday here.
Ramadan Information Center: http://www.islamicity.com/ramadan/

Discover what this holiday is about and find prayers and more online.

St. Patrick's Day

The History of St. Patrick's Day: http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/

Learn who St. Patrick was and why this holiday is celebrated, then take a quiz to test your Irish knowledge.

Thanksgiving

Valentine's Day

Cupid: http://www.holidays.net/amore/cupid.html

How Cupid became the Valentine's Day symbol.
History of Valentines Day: http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/valentine/

The History Channel tells of the history behind the holiday.

Veterans Day

Veterans Day: http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

Learn all about the history of Veterans Day here.
Veterans Day Frequently Asked Questions: http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetday_faq.asp

Learn the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day, why red poppies are worn, and much more at this site by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.