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List of Holidays

March 30th, 2010
Peter Emerson asked:




Every country has a list of holidays and observances related to their religion, origin, and nation. Others may get a deep insight into the traditions and customs by examining a country?s holidays and celebrations. The United States is a country which does not have national holidays but has established a number of federal holidays. Every state in the United States has its own jurisdiction over the observance of these holidays.

New Years Day, Independence Day, Christmas Day, Veterans Day, the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Inauguration Day, Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, United States of America’s Independence Day, Labor Day, Washington’s Birthday, Columbus Day, Election Day, and Thanksgiving Day are among these federal holidays and celebrations of the United States.

The four federal holidays such as New Years Day, Independence Day, Christmas Day, and Veterans Day are celebrated by date. The federal holidays such as the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, and Washington’s Birthday are set by a day of the week and month.

The United States of America’s Independence Day is celebrated on 4th July. The Inauguration Day falls on January 20th and is observed every four years starting from 1965.

The Groundhog Day, Lincoln’s Birthday, April Fools Day, Administrative Assistants’ Day, Arbor Day, Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day, Earth Day, Parents’ Day, United Nations Day, and Halloween are other celebrations which are widely observed by the Americans.

Mardi Gras, also called Fat Tuesday, is a notable observance that occurs on the day prior to Ash Wednesday. It marks the end of the carnival season, which once began on Epiphany but is now usually celebrated the last three days before Lent. This event attracts thousands of local and international visitors to the New Orleans area.

St. Patrick’s Day and Kwanza are some other religious and ethnic observances celebrated by the people of America.

If a federal holiday falls on a Sunday, it is usually celebrated on the following Monday. Likewise, if a holiday is on Saturday, it is observed on the preceding Friday.

This is mainly done for the ease of pay and leave benefits of the federal employees working in the United States.

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Tips For Finding Airline Travel Deals

March 30th, 2010
Adrian West asked:




Setting up a budget is usually the first step in planning for a dream vacation. You have to consider the costs of getting to, and staying at, a particular place, even if you may have a destination in mind. You may have to spend some time in search of some great airline travel deals if money is tight. Fortunately, finding airline travel deals is not as difficult as it used to be.

Booking a flight well in advance is one of the tricks to getting great deals. Airline tickets can be booked up to eleven months in advance. Early tickets are often cheaper than buying them just until a few weeks before your trip. However, you can have some problems if your trip is cancelled because these tickets are often non refundable.

You should call the airline directly if you are looking for airline travel deals. The airlines are the best source for discount prices. They may be eager to get you aboard because of a last minute flight that they would like to fill. They may also have some unadvertised specials that you can take advantage of.

Travel agents are also a good source of airline travel deals. You can ask them to search through all airline offers and find something to fit your needs. You will have a person who has your best interests at heart if you choose to deal with a travel agent.

In recent years, travel agents have lost a lot of business because online airfare sites have become very popular. They will be eager to help you find very best airline travel deals, so that you will still seek their service in the future.

The Internet is also a good source of airline travel deals. Try not to focus your search on just a few sites, search them all if you want the best deals. Since that ticket price change quite often, you should get a ticket if it has a fantastic price immediately. That great price could be gone in a few hours.

Remember that airline travel deals aren’t really deals if you aren’t getting what you think you are paying for. Read the fine print on any website before you make any ticket purchase. Otherwise, you may be stuck with the cost of the tickets if there is a mistake.

Always ask the travel agent or the airline’s representative to repeat all the information back to you so that you can double check your ticket. Don’t be afraid to speak up if you discover that there has been a mistake, or that you have not been given the airline travel deals that you should be getting.

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Popular Occasions – 15 Cool Facts About Your Favorite Holidays

March 29th, 2010
Sunny Sherbourne asked:




Every year, individuals from all over the world come to together to celebrate the holidays. Whether you’re decorating a tree for Christmas or buying a bouquet of flowers for your special Valentine, there’s no denying that holidays play a key role in our lives.

Here are some fun facts about popular holidays throughout the year. Next time you’re sitting around the table with friends and family, why not share some of these cool tidbits:

Christmas

1. During the Christmas season, Visa cards are used an average of 5,340 times per minute in the United States.

2. In order for Santa to deliver all the presents on time, he would have to travel 111 million miles in a 31-hour interval. This equals 3.6 million miles an hour or 1000 miles a second.

3. The 26th of December used to be called St. Stephen’s Day but was changed because, on this day, money was traditionally collected in alms-boxes that were placed in churches. The money from these boxes was distributed to the poor after Christmas.

4. Alabama was the first US state to proclaim Christmas Day as a legal holiday in 1836, while Oklahoma was the last in 1907.

Valentine’s Day

5. According to Hallmark research 73 percent of Valentine’s Day flowers are bought by men.

6. Also according to Hallmark research, 188 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually.

7. The first box of Valentine’s Day chocolates was introduced by Richard Cadbury in 1868.

4th of July

8. There are 30 places nationwide with the word “liberty” in their name. The most populous one is Liberty Missouri and has a population of 26,232. Iowa leads all of the US states with four places featuring the word liberty (Libertyville, North Liberty, New Liberty and West Liberty).

9. The first 4th of July party held at the White House took place in 1801 when Thomas Jefferson was President.

St. Patrick’s Day

10. Chicago is known for dying the Chicago River green on St. Patrick’s Day. This began in 1962. Today, 40 pounds of green dye are used to turn the river green for several hours.

Halloween

11. Orange and Black, the traditional colors representing Halloween, were chosen because orange is associated with harvests and black is associated with darkness and death.

12. In Scotland, instead of saying “trick or treat,” children say “the sky is blue, the grass is green, may we have our Halloween?”

13. In Ireland, children have salt sprinkled in their hair on Halloween to ward off spirits.

Easter

14. The egg was chosen as a traditional symbol of Easter because Egyptians, Gauls, Persians, Romans and Greeks viewed the egg as a symbol of life.

Thanksgiving

15. The US Department of Agriculture revealed that more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the US during Thanksgiving. This figure represents one sixth of all turkeys sold in the United States each year.

Happy holidays everyone! We hope you enjoyed our list of fun holiday facts!

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