In the Western world, the birthday of Jesus Christ has been celebrated on December 25 th since AD 354, replacing an earlier date of January 6 th. The Christians had by then appropriated many pagan festivals and traditions of the season, that were practiced in many parts of the Middle East and Europe, as a means of stamping them out.

 New Christmas customs appeared in the Middle Ages. The most prominent contribution was the carol, which by the 14th century had become associated with the religious observance of the birth of Christ.In Italy, a tradition developed for re-enacting the birth of Christ and the construction of scenes of the nativity. This is said to have been introduced by Saint Francis as part of his efforts to bring spiritual knowledge to the laity.

Saints Days have also contributed to our Christmas celebrations. A prominent figure in today's Christmas is Saint Nicholas who for centuries has been honored on December 6th. He was one of the forerunners of Santa Claus.

Christmas

Legend has it that Valentine was a priest whoserved during third century Rome. There was an Emperor at that time by the name of Claudius II.Emperor Claudius II decided that single menmade better soldiers than those that weremarried. With this thought in mind he outlawedmarriage for young men in hopes of building astronger military base. Supposedly, Valentine,decided this decree just wasn't fair and chose tomarry young couples secretly. When EmperorClaudius II found out about Valentine's actionshe had him put to death.

Perhaps we'll never know the true identityand story behind the man named St. Valentine,but this much is for sure...February has been themonth to celebrate love for a long time, datingclear back to the Middle Ages. In fact, Valentinesranks second only to Christmas in number ofgreeting cards sent.

Valentine’s Day

Independence Day in the U.S., is an annualholiday commemorating the formal adoptionby the Continental Congress of the Declarationof Independence on July 4, 1776, inPhiladelphia. Although the signing of theDeclaration was not completed until August,the Fourth of July holiday has been accepted asthe official anniversary of U.S.independenceand is celebrated in all states andterritories of the U.S.

The holiday was first observed in Philadelphia on July

8, 1776, at which time the Declaration ofIndependence was read aloud, city bells rang, andbands played. It was not declared a legal holiday,however, until 1941. The Fourth is traditionallycelebrated publicly with parades and pageants,patriotic speeches, and organized firing of guns andcannons and displays of fireworks; early in the 20th

century public concern for a "safe and sane" holidayresulted in restrictions on general use of fireworks.Family picnics and outings are a feature of privateFourth of July celebrations.

Independence Day