3 – On October 31, Halloween (the evening before All Saints or All Hallows Day), American children dress up in funny or scary costumes and go "trick or treating": knocking on doors in their neighborhood. The neighbors are expected to respond by giving them small gifts of candy or money. Adults may also dress in costume for Halloween parties.
4 – Thanksgiving Day is one of the major holidays in America. This Holiday is also celebrated in Canada, Caribbean Islands and Liberia. The American tradition of Thanksgiving dates back to 1621, when the pilgrims gave thanks for their bountiful harvest in Plymouth Rock. They celebrated for three days, feasting with the natives on dried fruits, boiled pumpkin, turkey, venison and much more. This came to be known as the first thanksgiving. This celebration, however, was only to be repeated when in 1789 George Washington proclaimed it to be a national Holiday on Thursday 26 November that year- latter being set in the last Thursday in November by President Lincoln (1863). The Holiday has evolved and has become what Americans and the “world” now know as Thanksgiving. A day to gather with loved ones, to celebrate, to give thanks for many blessings and eat. Every year, millions of Americans travel thousands of miles to be with family and friends. The traditional American Thanksgiving includes several dishes. This meal steams from that eaten by the pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving. Another tradition is the Macy’s Day Parade. This Parade began before the Holiday was legal. For some years the Parade stopped due to the II world war but it was picked up in 1945 and nationally televised, in order that all America could be part of it, making it then an integral part of the American Thanksgiving Holiday tradition. Some parades or festivities also mark the opening of the Christmas shopping season.
Nowadays, thanksgiving is also when thousands of Americans volunteer to help people in need.
Christmas is a widely festive holiday in the US. At this time most people take time off to celebrate with family but it is not uncommon that an institution, organization, business and school to be closed. School holidays start a few days before Thanksgiving and last until after New Year’s Eve. During this season it is common to see decorations everywhere people go. Houses (interior and exterior) are also decorated having the Christmas tree usually in the center of the house. Christmas Eve is not a mandatory celebration; in fact several people only celebrate the Christmas day. Young children though give a particular importance to the night before Christmas because it’s the night Santa Claus is said to visit homes while children are sleeping during the night (before Christmas morning). At “these” homes the fireplaces have the traditional Christmas stockings hung so that Santa C. can fill with gifts and in exchange they leave a plate full of Christmas cookies for him to eat. On Christmas Day family gadder and exchange gifts, most children open the presents on Christmas morning as soon as they wake up. The traditional Christmas dinner is celebrated on Christmas Day, contrarily to Europe. In some cities on Christmas Eve they “perform” the Midnight Mass.
4th of July, also known Independence Day, marks the birth of America and the day the US secured independence from the British Empire. The day is associated with patriotic displays, barbecues, picnics and baseball games and serves as a time to go on holiday.
Most public offices will be closed on July 4th – this would include schools (see below), government offices (federal, state, local), courts, post offices and such. July 4th is in the summer, and many schools (including primary, secondary and colleges and universities) are out anyways. Outdoor BBQs (although an actual BBQ enthusiast might prefer we say "grilling out") are common – family and friends together to cook burgers, hot dogs and steaks and such on an outdoor grill, drink beer, and hang out. Larger, public fireworks displays take place in the evening, after sun down. Some communities will have July 4th parades and other community-wide celebrations, often with patriotic themes (marching veterans, police officers, and such).
New Year ’s Eve is celebrated by millions of people around the world. Americans as wells as some other countries give parties with fireworks. Festivities change from place to place according to regional differences and cultural traditions. One tradition that dates back to 1907 is the famous New York’s countdown in Times Square, where thousands of persons gadder to watch a crystal ball falling from the sky at midnight. Millions of Americans watch this event on TV. Another tradition is, for instance, Maryland’s crab release instead of the crystal ball symbolizing their richness in seafood. In Plymouth, Wisconsin, a huge piece of cheese falls, in honor of the city’s economy (dairy economy). New Year’s Eve is marked by parades and football games in some cities of the country and in some communities. The first Baby born in New Year’s Eve is honored with gifts and media coverage. In addition, NYE is filled with rituals and superstitions brought to the US by many immigrant groups. For example, it is considered to be good luck to eat black beans on New Year’s Day in the southern States, a tradition that goes back to Asia and Africa. Cabbage and sauerkraut, representing prosperity and long life, are contributions from Eastern Europe to New Year's dinner.
5 – Thanksgiving
Although the first ever thanksgiving had a different menu, the centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada is a large meal, generally centered on a large roasted turkey. Back in 1621 during the first documented "Thanksgiving," the day was probably more focused on religious ceremonies than dinner. Itis believed that the actual main course was probably fowl or deer. The speculations about why nowadays the main dish is turkey is that it was apparent that wild turkeys were incredibly easy to access in the Plymouth area, where this tradition started.
The tukey is served with a variety of side dishes which vary from traditional dishes such as mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, to ones that reflect regional or cultural heritage.
Christmas
Roast turkey (or other poultry), beef, ham, or pork; stuffing (or 'dressing'); mashed or roast potatoes and gravy; and squash or roasted root vegetables are common. Common desserts include pumpkin pie, plum pudding or Christmas pudding, and mince pies. In the South, coconut cake, pecan pie, and sweet potato pie are also common.
4th of July
Barbecues: despite barbecues being widely associated with America, many believe that barbecue originated in the Caribbean, and later worked its way into the American South. Barbecue, especially barbecue pork, became so popular in the South due to the abundance of pigs. Since barbecue style cooking allows for a lot of food to be cooked at once (like for a family gathering), it quickly became an American tradition.
Corn on the cob is a barbeque staple, which makes it so popular on the 4th of July. While corn is the most abundant and cultivated grain in the United States, corn has been around for thousands of years.
Corn has been viewed as the ancient grain of the New World, and is believed to be first cultivated 9,000 years ago in southern Mexico. Shortly after, Native Americans discovered the versatility of corn and it began to be grown and harvested across the United States. In fact, the Native Americans have been eating corn off of the cob well before the Europeans even set foot in America.
You can’t have a barbecue without the classic hot dog. Hot dogs are one of Americans' favorite foods for Independence Day. While the exact origin of the hot dog is unknown, it is thought to have been brought to America by immigrants. Up until 1893, the hot dog wasn’t even associated with American culture at all. In that year, the hot dog became standard fare at many baseball parks across America, thanks to St. Louis bar owner Chris Von der Ahe, owner of the St. Louis Browns and a German immigrant.
Burgers are also very popular as well as potato salad (which is very for picnics in the US and is usually prepared the night before). Fried chicken and American Flag Pie are also on the menu (Pie is a staple food for Independence Day. As the pies usually include ingredients of the same color of the American flag, the more traditional apple pie is substituted with strawberry, blueberry and cherry ones), Pie was brought to America by the first English colonists. Pies were previously popular in England, though they were often meat pies. As more colonists began to settle, pioneer woman began to bake pies that were more regionalized, using local ingredients.