Holidays and their related symbols and customs reflect the history and identity of people of all cultures. This revised and expanded edition of Holiday Symbols and Customs provides an introduction to the many ways in which people celebrate and find meaning in these traditions.

Table of Contents

• Preface
• A
• Aboakyer Festival
• Academy Awards
• Advent
• Akshaya Tritiya
• Akwambo
• Al-Hijra
• Alasitas Fair
• Alaska Day
• All Souls’ Day
• America's Cup
• Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast of the
• Anzac Day
• Aoi Matsuri
• Apache Girls’ Sunrise Ceremony
• April Fools’ Day
• Arbor Day
• Arctic Winter Games
• Army-Navy Football Game
• Asalha Puja
• Ascension Day
• Ash Wednesday
• Ashura
• Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast of the
• Athabascan Stickdance
• Autumn Equinox
• Awoojoh
• Awuru Odo Festival
• Aztec New Fire Ceremony
• B
• Basket Dance
• Bastille Day
• Bayou Classic
• Bella Coola (Nuxalk) Midwinter Rites
• Beltane
• Berber Bride Fair
• Blessing of the Waters
• Bodhi Day
• Boston Marathon
• Bouphonia
• Braemar Highland Gathering
• British Open
• Burial of the Sardine
• Burning Man Festival
• Burns Night
• C
• Candlemas
• Cannes Film Festival
• Carnival
• Chalma Pilgrimage
• Chandan Yatra
• Chinese New Year
• Ching Ming
• Christmas
• Christmas Eve
• Chrysanthemum Festival
• Chung Yeung
• Chusok
• Cinco de Mayo
• Columbus Day
• Coming of Age Day
• Compitalia
• Confederate Memorial Day
• Coptic New Year
• Corpus Christi, Feast of
• Crow Fair
• Cup Match
• D
• Darwin Day
• Daytona 500
• Dewali
• Día de los Muertos
• Dionysia
• Distaff Day
• Dosmoche
• Double Fifth
• Double Seventh Festival
• Durga Puja
• E
• Eagle Dance
• Earth Day
• Easter
• Easter Monday
• Ebisu Festival
• Egungun Festival
• Ember Days
• Epiphany, Feast of the
• Esala Perahera
• Exaltation of the Cross, Feast of the
• F
• Father's Day
• Feast of Fools
• Feast of the Dead
• Feast of the Immaculate Conception
• Festival of Seven Herbs
• Fiesta de Santa Fe
• Fiesta San Antonio
• Flag Day
• Floralia
• Flower Communion
• Flute Ceremony
• Forgiveness Sunday
• Fourth of July
• G
• Gai Jatra
• Galungan
• Ganesh Chaturthi
• Ganna
• Gauri Festival
• Ghanta Karna
• Gion Matsuri
• Golden Globe Awards
• Good Friday
• Great Elephant March
• Great New Moon Ceremony
• Green Corn Dance
• Gudi Padva
• Guru Nanak's Birthday
• Guru Purnima
• Guy Fawkes Day
• H
• Hajj
• Halashashti
• Halloween
• Hanami
• Hanukkah
• Hari-Kuyo
• Harvest Home Festival
• Hemis Festival
• Henley Royal Regatta
• Hidrellez
• Higan
• Hina Matsuri
• Hiroshima Peace Ceremony
• Hogmanay
• Hola Mohalla
• Holi
• Holocaust Memorial Day
• Holy Innocents’ Day
• Homowo
• Hopi Snake Dance
• Hungry Ghosts Festival
• I
• Id al-Adha
• Id al-Fitr
• Iditarod
• Imbolc
• Incwala
• Indianapolis 500
• Indra Jatra
• International Day of Peace
• Inti Raymi Festival
• Ironman Triathlon World Championship
• Iroquois Midwinter Ceremony
• J
• Janmashtami
• Jhulan Yatra
• Jidai Matsuri
• John Canoe Festival
• Juneteenth
• K
• Kamakura Matsuri
• Karthikai Deepam
• Kartika Snan
• Kataklysmos Day
• Kattestoet
• Kentucky Derby
• Keretkun
• King Kamehameha Day
• Kodomo-No-Hi
• Korea National Foundation Day
• Kristallnacht
• Kumbh Mela
• Kupalo Festival
• Kwakiutl Midwinter Ceremonies
• Kwanzaa
• L
• Labor Day
• Lag Ba-Omer
• Lammas
• Lantern Festival
• Laylat al-Bara'ah
• Laylat al-Miraj
• Laylat al-Qadr
• Lazarus Saturday
• Leap Year Day
• Leif Erikson Day
• Lemuralia
• Lent
• Li Ch'un
• Lincoln's Birthday
• Lohri
• Loi Krathong
• Losar
• Lotus, Birthday of the
• Lughnasa
• Luilak
• Lupercalia
• M
• Mabon
• Magha Puja
• Mahavira Jayanti
• Martenitza
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Martinmas
• Masi Magham
• Maskal
• Maslenitsa
• Masters Golf Tournament
• Matsu Festival
• Maundy Thursday
• Mawlid al-Nabi
• May Day
• Memorial Day
• Michaelmas
• Mid-Autumn Festival
• Mid-Lent Sunday
• Midsummer Day
• Miss America Pageant
• Miwok Big Time
• Monkey King Festival
• Monlam
• Moors and Christians Fiesta
• Mother's Day
• N
• Naadam
• Nachi No Hi Matsuri
• Naga Panchami
• National Cherry Blossom Festival
• Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Feast of the
• Navajo Mountain Chant
• Navajo Night Chant
• Nawruz
• New Yam Festival
• New Year's Day
• New Year's Eve
• New York Gay Pride March
• Niman Kachina Festival
• Nineteen Day Fast
• Nyepi
• O
• Obon Festival
• Obzinky
• October Horse Sacrifice
• Odunde Festival
• Odwira
• Ogun Festival
• Oktoberfest
• Olympic Games
• Onam
• Oshogatsu
• Our Lady of Guadalupe, Fiesta of
• P
• Palio, Festival of the
• Palm Sunday
• Panguni Uthiram
• Parilia
• Paro Tsechu
• Paryushana
• Passover
• Pentecost
• Pinkster
• Pitra Paksa Festival
• Plough Monday
• Pongal
• Pooram
• Posadas, Las
• Poson
• Powamû Festival
• Procession of the Swallow
• Puck Fair
• Purim
• Pushkar Mela
• Q
• Queen's Birthday
• R
• Raksha Bandhan
• Ram Navami
• Ramadan
• Rath Yatra
• Reek Sunday
• Ridvan
• Rocket Festival
• Rogation Days
• Rose Bowl
• Rosh Hashanah
• Royal Ascot
• Royal National Eisteddfod
• Royal Ploughing Ceremony
• Rushbearing Festival
• S
• Samhain
• San Fermin Festival
• San Gennaro Festival
• San Jacinto Day
• Sanja Matsuri
• Saturnalia
• Saut d'Eau Pilgrimage
• Sechseläuten
• Sennin Gyoretsu
• Setsubun
• Seville Fair
• Shalako Ceremony
• Shavuot
• Shawnee Death Feast
• Shichi-Go-San
• Shick-Shack Day
• Shivaratri
• Shrove Tuesday
• Simhat Torah
• Sol
• Songkran
• Soyaluna
• St. Andrew's Day
• St. Anthony of Padua, Feast of
• St. Barbara's Day
• St. Basil's Day
• St. Blaise's Day
• St. Bridget's Day
• St. Casimir's Day
• St. Catherine's Day
• St. Christopher's Day
• St. David's Day
• St. Elmo's Day
• St. Francis of Assisi, Feast of
• St. George's Day
• St. James the Apostle, Feast of
• St. Joseph's Day
• St. Lucy's Day
• St. Mark's Day
• St. Mennas's Day
• St. Patrick's Day
• St. Stephen's Day
• St. Swithin's Day
• St. Sylvester's Day
• St. Thomas the Apostle's Day
• St. Urho's Day
• Sts. Peter and Paul, Feast Of
• Sukkot
• Summer Solstice
• Sun Dance
• Super Bowl Sunday
• Sweetest Day
• T
• Tanabata
• Tano Festival
• Tazaungdaing Festival
• Teej
• Tenjin Matsuri
• Terminalia
• Tet
• Thaipusam
• Thanksgiving
• Thesmophoria
• Tihar
• Timkat
• Tisha be-Av
• Tod Kathin
• Tori-no-ichi
• Tour de France
• Tu Bishvat
• Tulip Time Festival
• Twelfth Night
• Twenty-Four Hours of Le Mans
• U
• Umoja Karamu
• Up Helly Aa
• Urs of Data Ganj Bakhsh
• Ute Bear Dance
• V
• Vaisakh
• Valentine's Day
• Vasaloppet
• Vasant Panchami
• Vata Savitri
• Vegetarian Festival
• Vernal Equinox
• Vesak
• Veterans’ Day
• W
• Walpurgis Night
• Wampanoag Powwow
• Washington's Birthday
• Waso
• Watch Night
• Westminster Dog Show
• White Nights Festival
• Wianki Festival of Wreaths
• Wild Horse Festival
• Wimbledon
• Wind Festival
• Winter Solstice
• World AIDS Day
• World Cup Soccer
• World Eskimo-Indian Olympics
• World Series
• Wuwuchim
• Y
• Yaqui Easter Ceremony
• Yemanja Festival
• Yom Kippur
• Bibliography
• Appendix A: Calendars throughout History
• Calendars throughout History: An Overview
• Ancient Egyptians and Babylonians Systematize Their Calendars
• Babylonians and Egyptians Disagree
• The Solar System Affects the Length of the Year
• The Gap between the Lunar and Solar Cycles
• Chinese Calendar
• Calendars of India
• India's Original Calendar
• The Saka Era Calendar
• Hindu Calendar
• Jain Calendar
• Cyclical Eras
• Buddhist Calendar
• Sikh Calendar
• Mayan and Aztec Calendars
• Babylonian Calendar
• Zoroastrian Calendars
• Roman Julian Calendar
• Jewish Calendar
• Islamic Calendar
• Gregorian Calendar
• Christian Liturgical Calendar
• Old and New Calendars
• Western Liturgical Calendars
• Orthodox Liturgical Calendars
• Baha'i Calendar
• Appendix B: Tourism Information Sources for North America
• Appendix C: Tourism Information Sources for Countries around the World
• Appendix D: Entries by Type
• Ancient
• Calendar/Seasonal
• Folkloric
• Historic
• National
• Promotional
• Religious (Organized Alphabetically by Entry Name, Followed by Religion)
• Religious (Organized Alphabetically by Religion, Followed by Entry Name)
• Sporting
• Appendix E: Entries by Symbol and Custom