Holidays and Birthdays 0716601931

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Holidays and Birthdays

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Childcraft

THE

HOW

WHY

AND

^,

LIBRARY

Holidays and Birthdays World Book, a Scolt Fetzer

Chicago

London

Inc.

company

Sydney

Toronto

'

Childcraft— The

How

and

(Reg U S Pat and T

M OH

— Marca Registrada)

ic;

Why

Library

Inc All rights reserved This

1993 World Book.

volume may nol be reproduced

in

whole or

in

pan

in

any

form without prior written permission from the publisher.

World Book, Inc

525 W, Monroe Chicago. IL 60661 ici

1991. 1990. 1989, 1987. 1986, 1985 by World Book.

1981. 1980, 1979 (ci

U S A by World Book-Childcratt

Inc,

1932.

?

International. Inc

1964US.A, by

1976. 1974, 1973. 1971, 1970, 1969. 1968. 1965,

Field Enterprises Educational Corporation

c

International Copyright International Copyright

ic

1987. 1986, 1985 by World Book.

Inc-

1982, 1981, 1980. 1979 by World Book-

Childcraft International, IncInternational Copyright

>ci

1976, 1974, 1973, 1971, 1970, 1969. 1968,

1965, 1964 by Field Enterprises Educational Corporation

ISBN 0-7166-0193-1 Library of

Printed

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Congress Catalog Card Number 92-641 03 the United States of America

B/IB

Acknowledgments

—

The publishers of Childcraft The How and Why Library gratefully acknowledge the courtesy of the following publishers, agencies, authors, individuals, and organizations for permission to use copyrighted stories and poems in this volume Full illustration acknowledgments appear on pages 328-329

Morrow & Company. Inc.: Adaptation and My Mother Is the Most Beautiful Woman in Becky Reyher (without illustrations) Copyright 1945, renewed ^ 1973 by Becky Reyher and Ruth Gannett By permission of Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (a division of William Morrow & Company) and Mcintosh & William

abridgment of the World by

Inc

Otis,

Frances Dimity:

First

stanza of "The Flag

Goes By" by

Henry Holcomb Bennett reprinted with the permission

G P

of

Frances van Sweanngen Bennett Dimity.

from

Putnam's Sons In

Grosset & Dunlap, Inc

Sherwin Bailey copyright

Grosset

&

Reprinted from Merry Tales for Children,

1941 by Milton Bradley Company, copyright

>c'

1943 by The

Piatt

Dunlap,

& Munk

Co,, Inc

Used by permission

c

A

L,

text

Ingalls Wilder, copyright

by Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc

MacBride By permission

Publishers.

Inc..

of

excerpt from Farmer c

1933, as to

Renewed of

c

Charles Scnbner's Sons:

is

New

Year's Hats

Harper & Row,

Sons, Copyright

Union from

of

c

1973 by Marilyn

Now We

Rosenzweig All

(?'

of

for

the Statues"

Charles Scribners

1965 by Yoshiko Uchida

Amencan Hebrew Congregations: Begin by Marian

Dreidel

and Efraim

J

Song

M

Published by Union of American Hebrew

Congregations

Hebrew Publishing Company Potato Pancakes

used by permission

text,

1951 by

and Lutterworth Press

by Marilyn Hirsh, copyright

Putnam's Sons

Putnams Sons and

P

by Yoshiko Uchida from The Sea of Gold and Other Tales

Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc

Roger

Poems by John McCrae.

G P

G

(£>

Inc.

from Japan

Boy by Laura

1919, 1946, by

Repnnted by permission of Hodder & Stoughton. Ltd

"The Sugar Egg" by Carolyn

stanza of "In Flanders Fields"

First

Flanders Fields and Other

Copyright

Reprinted by permission

Around

Hirsh.

Reprinted by permission of Hebrew Publishing Company.

The Viking Press: The Peddler The

Way

Ballaghaderreen" from

of

Sawyer Copynght 1942 renewed 1970 by Ruth Sawyer

of the Storyteller by Ruth

by Ruth Sawyer,

©

Repnnted by permission

of Viking

Penguin

Inc

Volume 9

Holidays and Birthdays

Contents

Holiday

All kinds of holidays

Time

holiday

•

anniversary!

year

Holidays and calendars holiday

•

Every day's a

Birthday symbols

•

Happy

•

Seven days make a week • Twelve months make a does a year begin? • The changing calendar •

•

When

•

•

Your very own

Different calendars

30

January

Who The

my

shares

new!

birthday?

the Magi

gift of

of Scotland

•

•

The month

•

Happy New Year!

•

•

Free

New

at last!

Australia celebrates

of Janus

•

Ring

in

the

Year's Hats for the Statues •

Hero

•

of the South

India on parade

•

•

Poet The day of •

the Prophet

62

February

Who

shares

my

birthday?

•

The month

to purify

•

Here comes

Candles and weather • Four-footed forecaster • "Weeping Waters" • What's in a nickname? • To my valentine • Make a valentine • Eep's Valentine, or That's What Love Is All About • The right to vote • "Let's go to the Rondy!" • The changing birthday • Carnival time! • They're off! • The beginning of Lent the dragon!

98

March

Who

•

shares

Welshman

•

•

A

birthday?

day

•

for girls

Mars • The mark of a Moomba! • The wearing Ballaghaderreen • Welcome to our

The month and

dolls

• The Peddler of The man in the black carriage

of the green table!

my

Haman's hat

of

•

•

Liberty

— or death!

•

132

April

Who

shares

my

The Wise One

birthday? •

•

The "opening" month

Festival of freedom

•

He

is

•

risen!

"April fool!"

Color and decorate your own Easter eggs • "The British are coming!" • A holiday for trees • The dragon slayer • Simpson and his donkey • A Confederate hero bells

•

Egg

162

May

•

shares my birthday? • The month of Maia • Maypoles and parades • Fly a fish! • The battle of Puebla • For someone I

Who love

My

•

Mother

Is

the Most Beautiful

Birthday for two queens

remembers 192

June

Who

July

The Maid

•

in the

World

•

America

of Orleans

long

Who

shares

•

America! Scotland

August

Woman

frogs!

shares

• The month of Juhus Caesar • Happy Hands across the border • Happy birthday, Independence Day • Festival of Lanterns • A bit of Long Uve France! • The Liberator • Island holiday

my

birthday?

birthday, Canada!

234

Jumping

my birthday? • The month of Juno • Fifth day, fifth Day of the Commandments • A feast for a king • The fast • The Stars and Stripes • Bonfires and baptisms

moon

208

•

•

•

•

•

shares my birthday? • The month of Augustus • Along about sundown • The princess and the cowherd • Father of India • Indonesian hohday • A shining salute

Who

•

Bunnies and The Sugar •

246

September

Who

shares

my

birthday?

•

The "seventh" month

•

A

"take

it

Honoring Native Americans • Gifts for ghosts • "Independence or death!" • Jewish New Year • The Day of Atonement • The Cry of Dolores • The drill master • Autumn's Eve • Eat, drink, and be merry!

easy" day

266

Who

October

shares

celebrates on!"

282

•

Who

November

•

•

my

birthday?

Honor

The Festival

shares

my

•

The "eighth" month • Nigeria • The soldier from Poland

for a Viking

of Lights

birthday?

•

•

•

"Sail

"Trick or treat!"

The "ninth" month

•

The Gunpowder

Parade in Red Square • Lest we forget • Seven-fivethree • Harvest holiday • Thanksgiving Day • The First-Called Plot

298

•

my birthday? • The "tenth" month • Europe's Santa Juan Diego's vision • Cakes and candles • The happiest holiday • A Visit from St. Nicholas • The Feast of Lights • Potato Pancakes All Ai-ound • A new holiday Who

December

Claus

•

Read

326

Books

328

Illustration

330

Index

to

shares

Acknowledgments

All kinds of holidays Hurray,

Many

it's

a holiday!

holidays are days

have

to

go

to school

have

to

go

to

when you

don't

and grown-ups don't

work. These are often fun-filled

days when your family gets together for a big dinner, a picnic, or a backyard barbecue.

Sometimes there are parades or fireworks.

And on some

holidays people go to a church

or other house of worship.

The very word

holiday means "holy day"

—a day on which

people thank or honor God.

We

celebrate

all

such as Christmas,

kinds of holidays. Many,

Yom

Kippur, and others

are religious holidays, or holy days.

Some

y\

holidays are the birthdays of great leaders or of

famous

people, such as Benito Juarez

George Washington. Others, such as

Day

in

and

Bastille

France, are the birthdays of nations.

And there are a number of special days, such as Remembrance Day in Canada. These holidays remind us of those who have helped their country in time of war.

We

also celebrate traditional holidays, one

of which

is

Thanksgiving. There are also

holidays for special groups of people. Labor

Day

is

one of these.

of working people. Children's children.

Day

It is

And

a holiday in honor

in

Japan there

—a special day

in

is

honor of

—

Holidays and calendars The

first

holidays were holy days. In fact, the

word holiday comes from an Old English word, haligdaeg, which means "holy day."

Many But we

of our holidays today are holy days. also celebrate

many

other kinds of

holidays. Why, you even celebrate a holiday

that

is

yours alone.

When you want

Do you know what know what day a

it

is?

to

holiday falls on, you look at a calendar.

Long

ago, the only "calendars" people had were the

moon, sun, still

stars,

and seasons. Even today we

use "moon calendars" and "sun

calendars."

Do you know which

Have you ever

kind you use?

really thought about the

days of the week and the months of the year?

How

do you think they got their names?

Do

you know what the names mean?

You

will find

out about

and many others good reading

all

of these things

—as you read

this book. So,

— and have a happy holiday!

Every day's a holiday Every day of the year there

is

a hohday

somewhere. Often, there are many different hohdays on the same day.

you could celebrate

all

If

you wanted

to,

year long. Here, for

example, are a few of the holidays that come

on the

seven days of March.

first

March

a traditional spring holiday in

is

1

On

the Engadine Valley in Switzerland. day,

young people

costumes ring

in

away

crack whips to drive

the

this

and

bells

demons of

winter. It

was on March

declared

Sam

its

1836, that

2,

independence from Mexico.

Houston, one of the people

Texans

in their fight for

on this day

Texas

And

led the

freedom, was born

1793. So, this

in

who

is

a double

holiday in Texas.

March country

3 in

a national holiday in Morocco, a

is

North Africa. Morocco

a king, and this day

is

is

ruled by

celebrated as the

Anniversary of the Throne.

On March

1791,

4,

Vermont became the

fourteenth state of the United States. So, the people of Vermont celebrate March 4 as

Admission Day. King Hassan of Morocco

II

On March

5,

Massachusetts remembers

what has come Massacre. colonists

On

were

day

in 1770,

several

killed in a street fight

British soldiers.

Crispus Attucks, 10

be called the Boston

to

this

One

with

of the people killed

who may have been

a

was

runaway

New

His death

slave.

Jersey,

where

this

is

is

remembered

in

Crispus Attucks

Day.

March

6

is

Independence Day

African country of Ghana. Pacific island of

And on

the

the httle

Guam, nearly halfway

around the world, March 6 Magellan Day.

in

It

was on

is

this

known

as

day

1521 that

in

the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan

landed on the island.

March

7

is

the birthday of Luther Burbank.

This great naturalist,

who was born

in 1849,

developed

many new

California,

where he

birthday

celebrated as Conservation, Bird,

is

and Arbor Day.

(

trees and flowers. In lived for

many

years, his

—

Your very

own You have

holiday a holiday that

is

your very own

your birthday!

The day you were born

is

a very special

day for you and your family. You probably celebrate this holiday with a birthday cake,

perhaps with a party

—and by getting

presents!

For thousands of years, people

all

over the

world have thought of a birthday as a very special day.

Long

ago, people believed that on

a birthday a person could be helped by good spirits or

hurt by

evil spirits. So,

when

a

person had a birthday, friends and relatives

gathered to protect him or her. And that's

how

birthday parties began.

The idea of putting candles on birthday cakes goes back to ancient Greece. The 12

Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses.

Among them was

one called Artemis (ahr tuh

mihs).

Artemis was the goddess of the moon. The Greeks celebrated her birthday once each

month by bringing

special cakes to her

temple. The cakes were round, like a

full

moon. And, because the moon glows with light,

the cakes were decorated with lighted

candles.

Not

Some

all

people celebrate their birthdays.

people celebrate their

name days

instead. In certain religions, children are

named

for saints.

Each

saint

is

honored on a

special day, called the saint's feast day.

People

who

are

named

for saints often

celebrate the saints' feast days, or their days, rather than their

At the

own

name

birthdays.

front of each of the following

sections of this book there

calendar for the month.

is

a birthday

It will tell

you what

famous person shares your birthday. 13

Birthday symbols Did you know that each month has a special jewel (called a birthstone), a special flower,

and a special color?

Here are the months and

their special

symbols. Find the month you were born

What

is

your birthstone and what

supposed flower?

to

mean? What

And what

favorite color?

^&it%

vm

Month

is

is

in.

is it

your lucky

supposed

to

be your

Flower(s)

Happy

anniversary!

Married people have their own special holidays, called

when they

wedding anniversaries. This

celebrate the

number

is

of years

they have been married. People often give gifts made of a certain kind of material to a

man and

a

woman who

have been married a certain number of years.

The wedding anniversary

is

called

name

if

your parents are

of the material. So,

by the

celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary, this will be their "tin anniversary."

Here are the kinds of certain

gifts given for

wedding anniversaries:

Anniversary

Seven days

make a week Monday's

child

is fair

Tuesday's child

of face, of grace,

is full

of woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works hard for his living. And the child that is born on the Sabbath day Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

Wednesday's

child

is full

Old Nursery

Why not

Rhyme

are there seven days in a week?

six, eight,

Why

or ten?

The word week means "a turning." Long ago, a

week was the length

of time

between

market days. This was anywhere from four

to

ten days.

We

don't

know

for certain

why

seven-day week began. The idea

come from the people

Among They

or

when

the

may have

of ancient Babylon.

them, the number seven was sacred.

also

worshiped the seven heavenly

— the moon, the of the planets — Mercury, Venus,

bodies that they could see sun, and five

Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

We

do know that the ancient Hebrews

were among the

first

people to adopt a seven-

day week. Their week was based on the story of Creation in the Bible. There,

God created the world

in six

it

says that

days and rested

on the seventh.

Have you ever wondered about the names of the days and

what they mean? Here are

the stories behind the names of the days. 17

y Sunday

is

this

first

day of

named for The Romans called

the week. the sun.

the

Z'

It is

day dies

of the sun."

solis.

or "day

Long ago, people

Anglo-Saxons lived in England. Their name for this day was sunnandaeg, called

Monday

the

is

became Sunday. The early Christians made this day their

second day of the week. It is named for the moon. The

Sabbath, or day of rest and worship, because Christ rose

this

or "sun's day." In time, this

Roman name

for

day was dies lunae, or "day of the moon." The Anglo-Saxons called

from the dead on a Sunday.

it

monandaeg

or

"moon's day." In time, this

became

Monday.

/

Thursday

is

of the week.

the fifth day

named

It is

for

Thor, the Norse god of thunder. The

Romans

called

day dies Jo vis, or "Jove's day," after Jove

this

(Jupiter), their chief god.

The Anglo-Saxons named this day Thuresdaeg, or

Wednesday

is

of the week.

It is

Woden

(Odin),

the fourth day

named for who was the most

"Thor's day." In time, this

became Thursday.

powerful of the Norse gods. The Roman name for this day was dies Merciirii, or "Mercury's day." Mercury was the swift

messenger of the gods. The Anglo-Saxons called this day Wodnesdaeg, or "Woden's day." In time, this became Wednesday. But we say WEHNZ dee, or WEHNZ day, because this

WEHD

is

easier than

w..^^r< «"