Hello from the West Coast of the United States! As the end of December looms close, many students (including me!) are excited to be done with their final exams and enjoy their winter break, celebrating various holidays. Many people celebrate Christmas. One tradition that is very common on the West Coast during this time is to host a “Secret Santa.” I myself am doing one with a group of friends. In this tradition, each person picks a random name from all of the names of the people participating. The person’s name that you pick is the person to whom you are supposed to buy a small gift. In other words, you are their Secret Santa! A few days later, everyone gets together and exchanges gifts, so you discover who your Secret Santa was! There are even versions where you need to guess who your Secret Santa is. In addition to this, another thing commonly done, especially by young children, is to leave a plate of cookies with a glass of milk on Christmas Eve for Santa. When you wake up on the 25th, the food is gone, eaten by Santa!
Moving away from winter celebrations, an important holiday for all Americans is Independence Day on the 4th of July. This celebrates the signing and passing of the Declaration of Independence, which brought the U.S. its freedom. To celebrate, there are often many fireworks, usually in the colors red, white, and blue.
Another American holiday is Thanksgiving. This celebration involves giving thanks, hence the name, and being thankful for everything one has. Celebrations are usually based on the historical 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people. Most people get together with their families or friends and eat a large meal, typically consisting of a turkey.
Lastly, two smaller holidays are April Fools’ Day and Groundhog Day. April Fools’ Day occurs on the first of April and involves making many small, practical jokes on others. When someone tricks someone, they often shout, “April Fools’!” Mass media can also be involved in this, often not revealing the April Fools’ prank until the next day. As for Groundhog Day, it occurs on the second of February and is used to predict the arrival of spring. If the groundhog sees his shadow, winter will last another six weeks. If he doesn’t see it, spring is just around the corner!
- Camille Roussel - USA (West Coast)