Easter（復活節）
Easter is a time of springtime festivals. In Christian countries Easter is celebrated as the religious holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God. But the celebrations of Easter have many customs and legends that are pagan in origin and have nothing to do with Christianity.
Traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored Easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.
復活節是春季的節日。在信基督教的國家裏，復活節是為紀念基督耶穌的復活而舉行的宗教節日。但是復活節有許多習俗和傳說的由來都是非宗教的，它們與基督教沒有任何關系。與節日密切聯系的壹些傳統有象復活節的野兔，它是作為繁殖生長的象征；還有復活節的彩蛋。最先是被繪以鮮亮的顏色來代表春天的陽光。這些彩蛋還可以用來玩滾彩蛋遊戲比賽，或作為小禮物送人。
Thanksgiving（感恩節）
The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621, to commemorate the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony after a harsh winter. In that year Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. The colonists celebrated it as a traditional English harvest feast, to which they invited the local Wampanoag Indians.
Days of thanksgiving were celebrated throughout the colonies after fall harvests. All thirteen colonies did not, however, celebrate Thanksgiving at the same time until October 1777. George Washington was the first president to declare the holiday, in 1789.
第壹個美國人慶賀的感恩節在1621年，為了紀念普利茅斯殖民地的人民在經過壹個歉收荒蕪的冬季後迎來豐收。在那壹年，州長William Bradford宣布那天作為感恩節。殖民者把它當成傳統的英國豐收節日來慶賀，在當天，他們還邀請當地的印地安的萬泊諾亞格人。感恩的節日延續了整個秋季的收獲季節，但其他的十三個殖民地沒有慶賀這個節日，直到1777年10月。喬治-華盛頓在1789年宣布把它定為節日，他也是第壹位宣布感恩節的總統。
Valentine's Day（情 人 節）
The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition.
So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
情人節的歷史充滿了神秘，但是我們知道，很久以來，2月就是壹個浪漫的月份了。情人節既留有基督教的痕跡，又有古羅馬的傳統。情人節又稱聖瓦倫丁節。關於情人節有好多傳說。其中之壹是，3世紀的時候，古羅馬的皇帝Claudius二世認為獨身的男子比有妻子、家庭的男子更善於打仗，於是他宣布婚姻是非法的，這也斷絕了士兵的來源。牧師Valentine意識到這條法令的謬誤，就公開反對，並且秘密為青年人主持婚禮。Claudius二世知道後就把Valentine處死了。
Fathers' Day（父 親 節）
In the 1900s, Fathers’ Day was created when Sonora Louise Smart Dodd wanted to express her deep appreciation to her own father, William Smart, who was widowed when his wife died at giving birth. Mr. Smart raised his six children on a rural farm in eastern Washington State. When Ms. Dodd was grown she wanted to show her appreciation to her father. So, in 1909, she proposed a day to honor her father in June (the month of her father's birth).
The very first Fathers' Day followed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge showed support of this becoming a national holiday. However, it wasn't until 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson officially proclaimed Fathers' Day a national holiday to be celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of June.
二十世紀初，蘇娜·路易絲·史墨·多德想要向他的父親威廉·史墨表達敬意，於是產生了父親節。她父親在他妻子難產而死以後，就壹直鰥居。史墨先生在東華盛頓州的農莊中獨力撫養大六個孩子。當多德女士長大成人後，她覺得要向父親致敬。於是，在1909年她提議在六月裏壹天向父親表達敬意。（她父親在六月生日）。第壹個父親節在1910年6月19日在華盛頓，史布肯慶祝了。1924年，卡文·柯立芝總統表示支持，並將此確立為國家的節日。然而，直到1966年，林頓·約翰遜總統才正式宣布六月的第三個星期天為父親節，在全國正式地慶祝。
Mothers’ Day（母親節）
The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. In the United States Mother’s Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe as a day dedicated to peace. By 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state.
While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother’s Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May.
最早的母親節慶祝可以追溯到古希臘的春天慶典，紀念眾神之母尤希。在17世紀，英國在四旬齋的第四個星期天慶祝壹個稱為“母親周日”的節日。在美國，母親節最早在1872年，由朱麗婭·沃得·郝提出，作為壹個關註和平的節日。到1911年，幾乎所有的州都慶祝母親節。
雖然世界各國的母親節在不同的時間，很多國家，如丹麥，芬蘭，意大利，土耳其，澳大利亞和比利時都在五月的第二個星期天慶祝母親節。
（註：《聖經·新約》中壹個魔鬼試探耶穌的故事。說的是魔鬼把耶穌困在曠野裏，40天沒有給耶穌吃東西，耶穌雖然饑餓，卻沒有接受魔鬼的誘惑。後來，為了紀念耶穌在這40天中的荒野禁食，信徒們就把每年復活節前的40天時間作為自己齋戒及懺悔的日子，叫做大齋節或者四旬齋（Lent）。據說，古希臘和古羅馬的木神節、酒神節都是它的前身。這40天中，人們不能食肉，娛樂，生活肅穆沈悶，所以在齋期開始前的壹周或半周內，人們會專門舉行宴會、舞會、縱情歡樂。後來，這樣的壹個日子逐漸演變成為壹個宗教習俗節日，拉丁語中叫做“Carnevale”，意思就是：“告別肉食”。Carnevale在英文中被譯作Carnival（嘉年華或狂歡節）。如今已沒有多少人堅守大齋期之類的清規戒律，但傳統的狂歡活動卻保留了下來，成為人們壹個重要節日。）
Boxing Day（禮盒節）
In England a long time ago…
Servants were required to work on Christmas. They were responsible for making the holiday run smoothly for wealthy landowners. They were allowed to take leave on December 26th and visit their families. The employers gave each servant a box containing gifts and bonuses. In addition, around the 800s' churches opened their alms boxes (boxes where people place monetary donations) and distributed the contents to poor.
In England today…
Few people have servants but the custom of giving gifts or money to those who provide service continues. It is also popular to visit grandparents and shop (the after Christmas discounts begin). Many people get the day off from work. Boxing Day is also celebrated in places where the English have settled like Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Our friends in Scotland tell us it is also celebrate there! Some places observe Boxing Day on December 26th and some celebrate it on the first weekday following Christmas, so, if Christmas falls on Friday or Saturday Boxing Day would be on the following Monday.
Now, the actual origin of this holiday is debatable and has been debated, one idea being more popular than the other at a given time.
以前，由於傭人們必須在聖誕節工作，所以他們被允許在節後的第壹天休假。雇主們日久成習，往往準備壹些禮盒，在傭人們回家之前送給他們。到了今天，擁有仆人的家庭已經稀罕得很。不過給服務行業的人贈送禮物的習慣還在繼續。
Halloween（萬聖節前夜）
Halloween is an annual celebration. The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living.
Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.
So, although some cults may have adopted Halloween as their favorite "holiday," the day itself did not grow out of evil practices. It grew out of the rituals of Celts celebrating a new year, and out of Medieval prayer rituals of Europeans. And today, even many churches have Halloween parties or pumpkin carving events for the kids.
Halloween這個詞本身來源於天主教. 11月1日, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"),稱為萬聖節, 是用於舉行儀式尊敬聖人的天主教日.其中有壹種說法是, 在那壹天, 那些先前死去的還在飄浮的靈魂會回來為來年的復生找壹些活人來附體. 他們認為這是轉世的唯壹希望. 教徒們深信這段時間內所有的時間及空間都是被懸浮的, 以便於讓靈魂世界與我們的生活空間相混合. 活著的人自然不想被附身，所以10月30日的晚上, 村民會熄滅家中的火焰, 把家裏弄得很冷,沒人想來. 他們還會穿上各類象鬼壹樣的服裝上街大聲的**, 盡可能的搞些破壞來嚇走那些想找人附體的鬼魂。因此, 盡管部分信徒可能已接受萬聖節前夕為他們最喜愛的節日, 但這壹天本身並不是來源於邪惡的慣例,而是由於凱爾特人慶祝新年和中世紀歐洲人的祈禱儀式. 今天, 甚至在很多教堂都會舉行萬聖節前夕晚會或讓孩子們雕刻南瓜燈籠，到各家敲門玩TRICK OR TREAT的遊戲。
April Fool's Day（愚人節）
Unlike most of the other nonfoolish holidays, the history of April Fool's Day, sometimes called All Fool's Day, is not totally clear. There really wasn't a "first April Fool's Day" that can be pinpointed on the calendar. Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously in several cultures at the same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring.
The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the New Year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1.
However, in the days when news traveled by foot, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others, the more obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1. These backward folk were labeled as "fools" by the general populace. They were subject to some ridicule, and were often sent on "fools errands" or were made the butt of other practical jokes.
1582年之前的法國，人們從3月25日開始慶祝新年，4月1日達到高潮。後來歷法改革，新年移到1月1日。然而在那個資訊很落後的年代，消息傳播是蝸牛速度。而且有些頑固人拒絕新的歷法，仍然在4月1日慶賀新年。其他的老百姓就把那些頑固的人稱為“傻瓜”，並且讓他們做些愚蠢的事情來取笑他們。
（以下補充的是美國的節日）
HOLIDAYS IN THE UNITED STATES
There are three types of holidays in the United States: political holidays, traditional holidays, and religious holidays. There are more political holidays than any other type. The most important political holiday is Independence Day, the fourth of July. On this day we celebrate our independence from Great Britain. Most people spend the day with their family and friends. Picnics and barbecues are very popular. In addition, almost every city and town has a fireworks display at night. Another very important political holiday is Memorial Day, which falls on the last weekend in May. On this holiday we commemorate all the soldiers who died for our country. Many towns and cities have parades, and some people go to cemeteries and put flowers or flags on the soldiers’ graves. A third important political holiday is Labor Day, which we celebrate on the first Monday in September. This is the day when we honor the workers of the United States. People watch parades, go on picnics, or go to the beach. For students, Labor Day is a bittersweet holiday, because when it is over they must begin school again. Besides these three political holidays, we also must begin school again. Besides these three political holidays, we also celebrate Presidents’ Day on the third Monday in February. On this day we commemorate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.