Celebrate. Celebrate A Reading A Z Alphabet Book Word Count: 1,363 ALPHABET BOOK.

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1 Celebrate A Reading A Z Alphabet Book Word Count: 1,363 ALPHABET BOOK Celebrate Written by Beverly Osborn Visit for thousands of books and materials.

2 Celebrate Photo Credits: Front cover: Sergio Moraes/Reuters; back cover: Firefly Productions/Corbis; title page: Frans Lemmens/zefa/Corbis; page 4: Blaine Herrington III/ Corbis; page 5: Jan Pitman/Reuters; page 6: Ersler Dmitry/123RF; page 7: Dan Lamont/Corbis; page 8 (top): istockphoto.com/andres Balcazar; page 8 (bottom): Natalia Litova/BigStockPhoto.com; page 9 (top): Anne Lewis/Alamy; page 9 (bottom): Alejandro Duran/123RF; page 10 (top): Jack Kunnan/BigStockPhoto.com; page 10 (bottom): Eray Haciosmanoglu/ BigStockPhoto.com; page 11: Nevada Weir/Corbis; page 12: Jason Cohn/ Reuters; page 13 (main): istockphoto.com/jani Bryson; page 13 (inset): Nikolay Okhitin/BigStockPhoto.com; page 14: Anatoly Maltsev/epa/Corbis; page 15: Tom Salyer/Corbis; page 16: Mario Laporta/Reuters Pictures; page 17: epa/corbis; page 18: Flip Schulke/Corbis; page 19 (top): Remi Benali/Corbis; page 19 (bottom): Artville; page 20 (top): Sergio Bertino/ Dreamstime.com; page 20 (bottom): istockphoto.com/sven Hoppe; page 21: Fred de Noyelle/Corbis; page 22: Robin Utrecht/epa/Corbis; page 23 (main): Annie Griffiths Belt/Corbis; page 23 (inset): Paul Cowan/123RF; page 24 (top): Justin Lane/epa/Corbis; page 24 (bottom): istockphoto.com/ Susan Trigg; pages 25, 27 (top): Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Blend Images/Getty Images; page 26: Martial Treezini/epa/Corbis; page 27 (bottom): Bhupendra Singh/BigStockPhoto.com; page 28: Monkey Business Images/ Dreamstime.com; page 29 (top): Dave G. Houser/Corbis; page 29 (bottom): C Squared Studios/Getty Images; page 20 (top): Richard T. Nowitz/Corbis; page 30 (bottom): Kelly Cline/123RF; page 31: Emmanuel Kwitema/Reuters Written by Beverly Osborn Celebrate Alphabet Book Learning A Z Written by Beverly Osborn All rights reserved.

3 Table of Contents Introduction... 4 April Fool s Day... 6 Boxing Day... 7 Christmas... 8 Dia de Los Muertos Earth Day Festival of the Sun Groundhog Day Halloween Independence Day Junkanoo Festival Kite Day Lantern Festival Martin Luther King Jr. Day New Year s Day Oktoberfest Puppet Festival Queen s Day Ramadan St. Patrick s Day Thanksgiving United Nations Day Valentine s Day Women s Day Xylophone Festival Yom Kippur Zanzibar Revolution Day Glossary Introduction We look forward to having holidays and celebrations. We have them marked on our calendar in red, or circled with stars and exclamation points! Some holidays are serious and some are very silly but we like them all. Usually, a holiday is created to remember the anniversary of an event that s important to us. Some holidays are only important to our town and others are important to our country. There are some holidays that are celebrated by the whole world. 3 4

4 We enjoy many types of celebrations without realizing how they began, or where they came from. Many have centuries-old customs and continue traditions that came from many countries. Over centuries, groups of people migrated from one country to another. When they came to a new place, they brought the customs of their old holidays with them so they could feel more at home. In time, their new country adopted and celebrated some of these holidays, too. Now, we have at least one holiday to celebrate for each letter of the alphabet. A April Fool s Day April 1 is called April Fool s Day. It s one of our oldest holidays, and no one is sure how it started, or when. We do know that people have been playing April Fool s tricks on their friends for over 500 years. What kind of tricks do people play? Send a friend to find something that isn t there. Or tell them a long story about something that didn t really happen. If your friend believes you, then you can yell April Fool! at them. 5 6

5 C B Boxing Day Boxing Day began long ago, in England. Then, house servants had to work on Christmas Day. Most servants were very poor and couldn t afford a holiday meal for their own family. So, on the day after Christmas, their employer would box up extra holiday food and give it to the servant as a gift. Giving a box of food became a holiday tradition in many countries. Now, Boxing Day is a day when we do something to help someone else. Christmas Christmas is a busy season! There are cookies to bake, packages to wrap, and a tree to decorate. But why do we do these things? The oldest customs of Christmas started long ago, and came from many different countries. In winter, people in Germany put a small, green tree inside the house to remind them of spring. Later, in England, Queen Victoria hung ornaments on the palace Christmas tree. People liked her idea, and we have been doing it ever since! 7 8

6 D E Earth Day Dia de Los Muertos In Mexico, Dia de Los Muertos means Day of the Dead. But it isn t a scary day at all. It s fun. Homes and streets are decorated with skeletons, and there are sugar candy skulls to eat. The Day of the Dead is a day for families to honor their relatives who have passed away. Families prepare special foods, visit the graveyard, and have a picnic there. They clean off all the graves, then they plant new flowers. Soon, the graveyard looks beautiful again. We all help to keep our Earth clean, but people weren t always so careful. In the 1960s, there were many large protests about the conditions of our Earth. Our air wasn t clean, and our rivers were dirty. In 1969, a written proclamation created a worldwide Earth Day. It stated that we are all responsible for taking care of the Earth. Each of us has to help. The proclamation was adopted by the United Nations, and better laws were written to protect our environment. Now, each year, Earth Day is celebrated by every country in the world. 9 10

7 F G Festival of the Sun Peru is an ancient country in South America. Long ago, when the old Inca people lived in Peru, they believed the Sun was a god. To keep their Sun god happy, they had a big Sun Festival every year. The Inca thought if the Sun was happy, it would continue to shine on their farms and their crops would grow. Today, The Festival of the Sun is the second largest holiday in Peru. Thousands of people come to watch the old ceremonies and to learn about the rich history and customs of the ancient Inca people. Groundhog Day February 2 is Groundhog Day! Crowds stand and wait for Phil, the groundhog, to wake up and come outside of his burrow. Like all groundhogs, Phil sleeps all winter. When he feels warmer, and hungry, he wakes up to see if it s spring yet. Farmers and television crews watch what he does. Will Phil feel warm enough to stay outside to eat? Maybe that means that winter is almost over. But if Phil runs back inside to sleep, that means cold winter weather will last for six more weeks

8 Halloween Halloween started centuries ago as a serious festival that welcomed the winter season. That long ago, many people still believed that ghosts and witches would play tricks on them during their festival. So people walked from house to house to collect treats little cakes and fruit. They offered the treats to the ghosts and witches so they would behave during the H festival. It was a bribe! Now, on Halloween night, you can collect treats for yourself! I Independence Day Countries celebrate the day they became independent. It is one of the most important events in the history of any country. Some countries have fought wars to be allowed to govern themselves, without any other country making decisions for them. It is always a day of great celebration and, often, it is noisy! There might be parades, bands, colorful floats, and lots of fireworks

9 K J Junkanoo Festival The Bahamas is a group of islands, located about fifty miles off Florida. On December 26, the Bahamas celebrate its culture and history with the Junkanoo Festival. Long ago, many of the people in the Bahamas were slaves. The day after Christmas was one day that slaves didn t have to work. They could exchange gifts and see family members. Over many years, this holiday grew into a festival of music, art, and dance. It s the biggest day of the year! Everyone goes to the Junkanoo parade to see the dancers and the beautiful costumes they create. Kite Day Did you know kites can fight? In Afghanistan, a Kite Day festival is a contest that lasts all day long. High above a tall hill, hundreds of kites fly in the sky. They soar, dip, and dodge as each kite tries to cut the string of another kite. One by one, they fall. And one by one, fliers take home their broken kites. At the end of Kite Day, only one kite is still flying in the sky. It s a great honor to have the winning kite but will they win the next time? 15 16

10 L Lantern Festival In China, the New Year s celebration can last for two weeks. On the last night, every town celebrates with the beautiful Lantern Festival. Hanging from every doorway and tree branch, the paper lanterns glow brightly all night. They can be small or large, or in any design or shape. Lanterns can look like birds, dogs, snakes, flowers, or long, fiery dragons. Some elaborate dragon lanterns will be as long as a street and as tall as a house. It s a bright way to start a brand new year! M Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. was very brave. His life made a difference in the lives of many people. He wasn t silent. He talked about things that were wrong and should be changed. He asked people to respect and care about each other. And he asked for each person to have the same chance: the chance to do well in school and to have a good job. There were people who didn t like his ideas, and they tried to bully him, but he didn t give up. His bravery made the world a better place for everyone

11 O N New Year s Day Isn t New Year s Day on January 1? In some countries, the new year starts in February, or it begins the day after the first full moon is seen. It might begin in spring, or in fall. It all depends on the calendar that you use. And every country has their own New Year s traditions and ways of celebrating the first day of the year. In Bali, people walk down to the sea to wash their feet. In China, children are given small, red envelopes that have money inside. And, in every country, people make a resolution, or promise, to do something better in the new year. Oktoberfest Many years ago, a prince in Germany invited everyone in his town to his wedding. It was in October, at harvest time. Outside the castle gate, he set up long tables with food. Thousands of people came to his feast so he did it again the next year and even more people came! He did it again, and again, and every year, it got bigger. Today, it s the most famous festival in the world, and it lasts for three weeks. Large tents are set up, bands play music all night and everyone eats too much food

12 Queen s Day Puppet Festival The puppets are in town! P Every summer, the puppets arrive in the city of Prague for the Puppet Festival. Puppet makers from over thirty countries come to show off their best designs. They put on special puppet shows, and people wait to see who will win the prizes. So many people want to see the puppets that they have their own parade through the city! People line the streets, and, as the puppets pass by, they cheer for the puppets they like best. A Queen can have a very big birthday party! In the small country of The Netherlands, April 30 is the Queen s birthday. Every town celebrates. Many have a carnival, big outdoor markets, music and dancing and people wear bright orange hats. Many towns in The Netherlands have rivers and canals, so people decorate their boats and sail all day long. Q The queen shares her birthday with everyone she meets. She visits as many towns as she can, and eats a lot of birthday cake! 21 22

13 S R Ramadan The Islamic customs of Ramadan are very old. It s a quiet time for serious thinking. People and families read and study and think about their lives. Have they been kind? Do they have any bad habits they should change? During Ramadan, it s also a custom for people not to eat their regular meals. They wait until after the sun sets, when there may be special foods and desserts waiting for them. Many of these foods are only made at this time of year. Ramadan lasts for a month. Do you think you could follow its customs for a month? St. Patrick s Day On St. Patrick s Day, it seems that everything is green! There are parades, silly costumes, lots of music and big green hats. Green is the color of the country of Ireland. Green is also the color of the lucky shamrock. A shamrock is a tiny clover plant with four leaves, which is thought to be lucky. But shamrocks with four leaves are hard to find. If you find one, it will bring you good luck for the next year

14 T U United Nations Day Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a special family holiday in America, and everyone wants to be home for Thanksgiving dinner. People in different parts of the country cook different things, and each person has a favorite food. There are many traditional dishes like roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie but some people cook shellfish, or a roast, or pasta. The rich cooking smells fill the house all day long, and it s hard to wait for dinner to begin! The United Nations is made up of people called delegates, who come from many countries. They work together at a large building in New York City. Together, the delegates try to fix problems between countries and look for ways to make the world safer. They also ask larger, experienced countries to help smaller, or newer, countries to succeed. On United Nations Day, there is a music concert that is broadcast around the world. The concert celebrates another year of many countries working together

15 V W Valentine s Day Do you make big paper hearts for friends on Valentine s Day? Everyone likes to get a valentine, and they are fun to make. People have been sending valentine messages since ancient Roman times. In the 1800s, a woman began mailing cards to her friends, and everyone liked her idea. Now, millions of people mail valentine cards every year Women s Day Women s Day is an international holiday. It honors the work of women from all over the world and supports their efforts. Women explore the stars in space ships, and they lead countries. Women change bad laws and make hospitals and schools better. Women have even discovered dinosaurs. Women s Day helps people learn to help one another do great things.

16 Y X Xylophone Festival A xylophone is a music instrument from Africa. It s long like a table and has flat, wood keys. To make the unusual sounds, a player hits the wood keys with small wood hammers. You may have seen small toy xylophones, but there are some very large ones that can be played by many people at one time. At the festival, there are great xylophone players from all over the world. They give public concerts for thousands of people, share their music, and teach each other new songs. Yom Kippur Yom Kippur has many ancient Jewish customs to follow, and is the most important day of the Jewish year. For the twenty-four hours of Yom Kippur, people do not go to work, play in sports or games, or eat regular meals. Yom Kippur is a day for people to think about the things they have done. It s a day to be sorry if you have hurt someone, and to ask for their forgiveness and understanding

17 Glossary Zanzibar Revolution Day Z Zanzibar is a beautiful island off Africa. It has sandy beaches, green forests, sailboats, birds, butterflies, and monkeys. Every January, Zanzibar has a holiday for the whole island. It celebrates the day the island had to fight a very short revolution, or war, to become independent. The Zanzibar revolution was the shortest war ever fought it lasted for only three hours. The people surprised the guards while they were sleeping and took control of the fort. anniversary (n.) to do something special to honor an event (p. 4) burrow (n.) a hole in the ground, made by an animal (p. 12) carnival (n.) a festival for amusement, such as a traveling circus (p. 22) celebrations (n.) the annual repetition of a special event (p. 4) graveyard (n.) a cemetery; a burial location (p. 9) independent (adj.) not under the control of anyone else (p. 14) Islamic (adj.) religious traditions and laws followed by Muslim people (p. 23) islands (n.) an area of land surrounded by water (p. 15) international (adj.) concerning two or more nations (p. 28) proclamation (n.) an official, formal pubic announcement (p.10) resolution (n.) an expression or promise to do something (p. 19) respect (n.) to be thoughtful and caring toward other people (p. 18) servants (n.) a person who does household tasks in someone s home (p. 7) 31 32