Miscellaneous Holidays

April Fool's Day Origins
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/aprilfools/origins.asp
Snopes.com, famous for de-bunking urban legends, tackles the origins of April Fools' Day. A common story is that April Fools' Day has its roots in the 1500's when the Gregorian calendar took over from the Julian. People confused by the switch, who celebrated New Year's on the wrong date (previously April 1) were teased as "April Fools." Whether that story is true or not remains "undetermined" according to Snopes. This page also discusses other April Fools' theories and folklore. "Superstition has it that the pranking period expires at noon on the 1st of April and any jokes attempted after that time will call bad luck down on the head of the perpetrator."

Arbor Day: Carly's Kids Corner For 4th Grade and Up!
http://www.arborday.org/kids/carly/index.cfm?CFID=6140646&CFTOKEN=37240940
Arbor Day is the Last Friday in April. This site has lots of Arbor Day activities. Sections include Kids Make a Difference, Arbor Day Farm, Trees Make a Difference, and Fun and Games.

Armed Forces Day
http://www.defenselink.mil/afd/
Armed Forces Day is celebrated annually on the third Saturday of May. This year it will be May 18. At this site, maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense, you can read the history of Armed Forces Day. The observance began in 1949 as a one-day celebration unifying each military branch's own celebration and remembrance day.

Celebrate the New Year in Lots of Languages
http://www.merpy.com/newyear/
A simple site that willl help students to say Happy New Year in many different languages. To switch from one lanugage to another do not use the back button but click on "more languages."

Celebrating America's Freedoms
http://www1.va.gov/opa/feature/celebrate/
Created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Celebrating America's Freedoms is a collection of articles about many of America's customs and national symbols. Topics include the history of Taps, the Pledge of Allegiance, The Star Spangled Banner, American flag etiquette and more. For Veterans Day, visit The Origins of Veterans Day and Activities for Veterans Day. All the features are available online or as a Word document or PDF.

Cinco De Mayo
http://www.nacnet.org/assunta/spa5may.htm
This site tells the history of Cinco de Mayo in both English and Spanish.

Cinco de Mayo
http://holidays.kaboose.com/cinco-de-mayo/
On this Cinco de Mayo site from Kaboose, you will find a link to the history of the battle between Mexico and France, an explanation of why we celebrate Cinco de Mayo, and Fun Facts. You will also find Craft Projects, Mexican Recipes, and Cinco de Mayo Printables. The Printables section contains coloring pages, Spanish word searches, puzzles, games, and activities.

Constitution and Citizenship Day
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/newtheme0905.html
This page from Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators has links to go along with your lesson plans for Constitution Day on September 17. You can also view a short segment of a 24 minute video available through United Streaming. If you do not have a United Streaming account set up, contact your campus tech specialist for the passcode for your campus.

Department of Veteran Affairs: Memorial Day
http://www1.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/
Memorial Day will be celebrated on Monday. It is believed that the end of May was chosen for the first Memorial Day because "because flowers would be in bloom all over the country." Visit the Department of Veterans Affairs Memorial Day site for a comprehensive history of the holiday, the story of taps, and to learn how the poppy became the Flower of Remembrance. There are also links to national observances, veteran statistics, and flag protocol.

Earth Calendar
http://www.earthcalendar.net/
Do you know what is being celebrated today? This calendar is not centered on the US, but on the nations of the world. Find holidays by nation, by date, or by religion. There are links to the official sites for each country and a map showing the country's location. Also, keep up with the phases of the moon. Easy to use.

First Thanksgiving
http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/
"The English colonists we call Pilgrims celebrated days of thanksgiving as part of their religion. But these were days of prayer, not days of feasting." Learn more about the history of Thanksgiving by viewing the slide show, playing the Web Quest (an interactive quiz with links to external websites for additional study) and exploring the Thanksgiving timeline. The timeline begins in 1621 with when the Pilgrims invited the Wampanoag Indians to join them in a harvest feast, and ends on November 26, 1941 with the creation of our modern Thanksgiving Day by President Roosevelt. Although alluded to, there was not a Teacher Guide available at the time of my visit.

Giving Thanks
http://www.midgefrazel.net/wqthanks.html
This site contains Thanksgiving Resources on the Web for Educators. There are three major Web pages to this project. Each part contains resources for the history of the Pilgrims, primary resource materials, Thanksgiving facts and myths plus plenty of activities to use in the classroom. Don't miss the Web presentation and WebQuest in Part 1 to get your adventure off to a good start!

Groundhog Day by Education World
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson330.shtml
"Whether Phil's shadow appears or not, Phil your Groundhog Day with connections to math, science, geography, and more. Included: Five new lessons."

Groundhog.org
http://www.groundhog.org/
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, here's one place you'll want to visit for Groundhog Day (February 2). Students will enjoy reading about the history of this event, tracking past outcomes, and making predictions for this year. Be sure to check out the "Hogtivities" section for puzzles, worksheets, and other ideas to complete your celebrations.

Halloween Crafts, etc.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/halloween/
Make scary pop-up cards, a string of ghosts or pumpkins, a skeleton with moveable arms and legs, masks and hats to wear, and fun desserts. Crafts feature step-by-step illustrated instructions and some patterns. There are also pages about bats and spiders with information and printable coloring and activity pages.

Hanukkah, The Festival of Lights
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson040.shtml
This site has lesson plans for students ages 3-9, based on reading and listening to stories about Hanukkah. In addition, there are several art activities to reinforce cultural understanding.

Happy Kwanzaa!
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/kwanzaa/

Haunted House
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-stories-haunted-house.htm
Listen to and read along with an animated story about a dog that gets lost in a haunted house. Includes a puzzle activity that lets you build an illustration from the story.

History Channel: History of St. Patrick's Day
http://www.history.com/minisites/stpatricksday/
St. Patrick's Day was March 17. Start your History Channel visit with the video clip, then peruse the menu on the left-hand side. Learn why St. Patrick's Day is celebrated with corned beef and cabbage. Find out if St. Patrick really rid Ireland of snakes. Also, check out the All Things Irish Quiz.

History of Halloween
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=1076
A serious orange and black background complete with bats and jack-o-lanterns give this site a right-spooky feel. Students can explore the history of this holiday and also find out how it's celebrated around the world. Ghost stories, historic haunts, cut outs, and recipes complete this ideal Halloween Website.

History of the Holidays
http://www.history.com/historyoftheholidays/index.jsp
Sections on Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa give interesting background on these December holidays. The Christmas section contains articles on The Real Story of Christmas, World Traditions, Evolution of Santa and Christmas Trees. Under Hanukkah, you can read about the holiday's history and traditions. The Kwanzaa section discusses the holiday's history and the meanings of its seven symbols.

History of Valentine's Day
http://www.history.com/minisites/valentine/
The History Channel presents this overview of the history of Valentine's Day. You can learn about St. Valentine's connection to the holiday and read about three true-life love stories: those of Harry and Bess Truman, Rachel and Jackie Robinson, and Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Just ignore the commercial aspects of the site.

Kaboose: Valentine's Day Jokes and Riddles
http://holidays.kaboose.com/valentines-day/valentines-day-jokes.html
This site contains cute riddles for students to use on the cards they create for Valentine's Day.

Looking Into Holidays Past
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/holidays-past/
The Library of Congress brings you a house for each season and holiday to celebrate. Click to enter through a window that leads to the past through primary sources such as documents, audio clips, movies and images.

Meaning of Kwanzaa
http://anacostia.si.edu/exhibits/past_exhibtions/Kwanzaa/kwanz.htm
Thorough explanation of the history, symbols, customs and ceremony give meaning to the holiday of Kwanzaa.

Memorial Day
http://www.kidsdomain.com/kids/links/Salute_to_Veterans.html
Use the links on this site to remember America's veterans this Memorial Day (May 28). Students will learn about the history of Memorial Day and Veterans Day, and read about 20th-century wars and conflicts. They can also view vintage World War II posters and gather ideas for projects to commemorate our veterans.

Memorial Day
http://www.history.com/minisites/memorial/
Join HistoryChannel.com and uncover the interesting history of the holiday we now call Memorial Day. Discover little-known facts about America's wars and stop by the Veterans' Forum message boards to share your views with veterans, their loved ones, and fellow history buffs.

Mexican Holidays: Cinco de Mayo
http://www.mexonline.com/cinco.htm
This site gives an introduction, historical background, and tells how Cinco de Mayo is celebrated today.

Mother's Day on the Net
http://www.holidays.net/mother/
Mother's Day is observed on the second Sunday in May. On this site you'll find ways you can help your mother celebrate, a poem dedicated to mothers, craft ideas and pictures for young children, songs to sing, and other interesting ways to make Mother's Day memorable.

Multicultural Calendar
http://www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ/MCC/
Celebrate diversity in your classroom every day by learning about holidays from around the world. At this site, kids from almost every country have contributed their own descriptions of local holidays and customs.

New Year's History
http://new-years.123holiday.net/
Learn about the history and the traditions of New Year's Day. Read toasts, poems, kid songs, and quotes pertaining to the new year.

Plimoth Plantation: You are the Historian
http://www.plimoth.org/education/olc/index_js2.html#
"What really happened at the First Thanksgiving? What did they do besides eat? Football? Parades?" Become a history detective as you discover clues about what really happened at the 1621 harvest celebration. This multimedia learning activity is for students in grades three through six. Teachers will appreciate the extensive Teachers Guide, and students will have fun as they learn how historians separate myth from fact.

Poem Source: Kid Valentine Poems
http://www.poemsource.com/kid-valentine-poems.html
Joanna and Karl Fuchs share their original poetry with us at PoemSource.com Some of these poems are for kids to give to family members (moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins) and others are for giving to kids. The Fuchs generously allow personal use of any of their poems, but only for individuals, not for mass mailing. Be sure to read their terms of use before using.

Presidents' Day
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/special_events/presidents_day/index.html
For classroom use on Presidents' Day (or any time), Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE) presents a site that is dedicated to the achievements of President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln. Includes links to Presidents' Day activities and information, plus resources for each president and a list of literature relating to each.

Saint Nicholas: Customs Around the World
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=76
In many places St. Nicholas is the main gift giver. His feast day, St. Nicholas Day, is December 6, which falls early in the Advent season. Some places he arrives in the middle of November and moves about the countryside, visiting schools and homes to find out if children have been good. Other places he comes in the night and finds carrots and hay for his horse or donkey along with children's wish lists. Small treats are left in shoes or stockings so the children will know he has come. Read about St. Nicholas Day in many different countries.

Thanksgiving
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/thanksgiving/
Enchanted Learning provides a wealth of Thanksgiving-related ideas for crafts, decorations, and activity worksheets. Make a turkey from handprints and footprints, create a thankful leaf wreath or a easy-to-make scarecrow, or follow the voyage of the Mayflower across the ocean.

Thanksgiving
http://www.education-world.com/holidays/archives/thanksgiving.shtml
"Join Education World as we celebrate the Thanksgiving season. We have articles, lesson ideas, site reviews, books, crafts, clipart and much more -- all to help you meet all your holiday needs!"

Valentine's Day
http://www.kidsturncentral.com/holidays/valentines.htm  
Are you having a "heart" time finding new ways to celebrate Valentine's Day (February 14th)? Log on and get connected with cuddly clip art, crafty projects, yummy recipes, and great games. Gather ideas to your heart's content!

Valentine's Day for Kids
http://www.rats2u.com/valentine/valentine_kids.htm
Games, Crafts and Valentine's Day Fun Links.

Veterans' Day (November 11)
http://www.history.com/minisites/veteransday
Explore the history behind the annual holiday of Veteran's Day which honors those who have served in the military during wartime. View a timeline of America's wars, examine conflict maps, and watch videos of veterans' experiences.