Traditions, Customs and Public Holidays
Strictly speaking, the United States does not have national holidays as holidays of the United States vary locally. The federal government recognizes ten annual and one quadrennial holiday for its employees and these are widely observed by local governments and businesses, but they may alter the dates of observance or add or subtract holidays according to local custom. New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day are the most important.
Independence Day
In the United States, Independence Day, also called the Fourth of July, celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Independence Day, as the only holiday celebrating the USA as a country, is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays. Many politicians make it a point on this day to appear at a public event to praise the nation's heritage and people.
Families often mark the Fourth with a picnic or barbecue, and frequently see more distant relatives, taking advantage of the longer weekend. Parades are often held the morning of the 4th; the evening is usually marked by public displays of fireworks. Fireworks have been associated with the Fourth of July since 1777.
There is some debate about why that particular date was chosen. The American Congress debated the text of the Declaration of Independence until a little after eleven o'clock, July 4th, when twelve colonies voted for adoption and released an unsigned copy to the printers. (New York abstained). Philadelphia celebrated the Declaration with public readings and bonfires on July 8. Not until August 2 was the Declaration signed by the members of the Congress, but even that was kept secret to protect the members from British reprisal.
Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in much of North America, generally observed as an expression of gratitude to God for giving them America. It is regarded as much more significant to American society than Easter. The most common view of its origin is that it was to give thanks to God for the autumn harvest, echoing both pagan and Christian Harvest Festivals in Britain. In the United States, the holiday is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.
Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated with a feast shared among friends and family In the United States, it is an important family holiday, and people often travel across the country to be with family members for the holiday. The Thanksgiving holiday is generally a "four-day" weekend in the United States, in which Americans are given the relevant Thursday and Friday off. Thanksgiving is almost entirely celebrated at home, unlike the Fourth of July or Christmas, which are associated with a variety of shared public experiences (fireworks, caroling, etc.)
The centrepiece of contemporary Thanksgiving is a large meal in the late afternoon or evening, starring a large roasted turkey. Because turkey is the most common main dish of a Thanksgiving dinner, thanksgiving is sometimes colloquially called "Turkey Day". The US Department of Agriculture estimated that 269 million turkeys were raised in the country in 2003, about one-sixth of which were destined for a Thanksgiving dinner plate.
Many other foods are served alongside the turkey - so many that, because of the amount of food, the Thanksgiving meal is generally served midday or early afternoon to make time for all the eating, and preparation may begin at the crack of dawn or days before.
Since 1946, live Thanksgiving turkeys have been presented to presidents who "pardon" them, repealing their sentence of death.
Easter
Easter is less important in Protestant America than in many other countries. There are hollow chocolate bunnies, baskets of candy and model chicks on sale, together with greetings cards, but there is no public holiday despite Easter Monday being celebrated by many.
There is still a traditional Easter Monday egg-rolling race each year on the White House lawn.
Peeps are small marshmallow candies which are shaped into baby chickens, rabbits, and other animals. Peeps are primarily used to fill Easter baskets. They are made from marshmallow, sugar, gelatin, and carnauba a natural wax), and eaten either plain out of the box, dried and hardened (sometimes for years), microwaved (which makes the marshmallows tennis ball-sized) or frozen.
Peeps are made by "Just Born", a candy manufacturer based in Pennsylvania. "Just Born" claims peeps were introduced in 1953, but most aficionados say that Peeps were originally manufactured by Rodda Candy Company starting in the 1920s.