There are some holidays which are celebrated in the USA and in Great Britain. On these days, government offices, post offices, and banks are closed. January 1 - New Year's Day. On this day, families and friends meet for a meal. A common custom is to make promises for the New Year. People say, "I will work harder," or "I won't smoke this year." But they often forget these promises on January 2nd. On New Year's Day there are big football games and colourful parades. Not everyone can go to see them, so many people watch them on television. There is usually a parade in the morning, and the game is played in the afternoon. The best college teams play in "The Rose Bowl" in California, "The Cotton Bowl" in Texas, and "The Orange Bowl" in Florida. But how can Americans watch so many different parades and football games on the same day? In the US there are four different time zones, so it is possible to spend the whole day watching parades, football games, and New Year celebrations.
February 14th - St.Valentine's Day. Nobody knows very much about St. Valentine. One story is that he was murdered by Roman soldiers in the third century A. D. because he was a Christian. He gave a poor girl some money before he died, and so other Christians called him the saint of love. On this day, children write their names on cards with hearts on them, and give them to their classmates. Teenagers and adults give cards, presents, and flowers to their boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands and wives. Some people don't sign their cards because they want their name to be secret.
March 17 - St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick was an Irish saint, and St. Patrick's Day is very popular in cities where there are many Irish Americans. Green is the Irish colour and some bars sell green beer. People often wear something green on this day. If you aren't wearing green, be careful - someone may pinch you!
April 1st - April Fools' Day. A friend says, "Oh no! How did you get that big red mark on your face!" You look into the mirror. There is no mark! Then your friend says, "April fool!" Nobody is sure when or why this tradition began. One story is that it began in France in the sixteenth century. In 1564, the King of France changed the first day of the new year from April Is to January Is Some people did not accept this, and on April Is continued to celebrate the New Year and people made fun of them. Nowadays people play tricks on each other, so you have to watch and listen very carefully on this day.
Easter. The Easter weekend is in late March or early April, but the exact date changes every year. Easter is a Christian holiday which celebrates the day when Jesus came back from the dead. On Easter Sunday people give coloured and chocolate eggs to each other and send cards. Some cities have Easter parades with games and sports and a big Easter egg hunt.
October 31st – Halloween. In the evening you may hear a knock on your door. Outside there are children dressed up as ghosts, and witches, holding a bag. They shout, "Trick or treat!' Give them some sweets or they may put soap on your window. A popular tradition is to cut the shape of a face in a pumpkin, put a light inside it, then put it in the window.
Fourth Thursday of November – Thanksgiving. In 1621 William Bradford, the Governor of Massachussets, decided to have a thanksgiving dinner for all the people. He wanted to thank God for many things. It was a difficult year, but the people still had food to eat. He wanted a way to share this good fortune with the American Indians who helped them. That meal lasted three days. Today the traditional Thanksgiving meal is similar to the first. Usually there is a turkey, sweet potatoes, corn and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is a special day for families to get together.
December 25* - Christmas Day. This is the biggest holiday of the year and the one many people - especially children - enjoy the most. Soon after Thanksgiving people start sending Christmas cards and decorate their houses. Almost every home has a Christmas tree. German soldiers started this tradition in the US during the Revolutionary War of 1776.
The evening before Christmas Day is called Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve many people go to church and sing Christmas carols, and the President gives his Christmas message on TV. Parents tell children that Santa Claus will come to their house in the night and leave presents for them.
On Christmas Day people open their presents and then they prepare a traditional dinner of turkey or ham with vegetables, salads, and desserts. There are also special cookies, candies, nuts, and fruits. Christmas dinner is eaten late in the afternoon. During the day many families watch special Christmas TV and children play with their new toys. Some people go ice-skating or drive around town to look at the decorations.
On New Year's Eve people celebrate the end of the year and the beginning of the new one. Many people go to private parties but some go to large public celebrations. Thousands of people gather in Times Square in New York, for example. At midnight exactly everyone sings the old Scottish song "Auld Lang Syne".
The United States dollar
The first dollar coins issued by the United States Mint (founded 1792) were similar in size and composition to the Spanish dollar. The Spanish, U.S. silver dollars, and Mexican silver pesos circulated side by side in the United States, and the Spanish dollar and Mexican peso remained legal tender until 1857. The coinage of various English colonies also circulated. The lion dollar was popular in the Dutch New Netherland Colony (New York), but the lion dollar also circulated throughout the English colonies during the 17th century and early 18th century. Examples circulating in the colonies were usually worn so that the design was not fully distinguishable, thus they were sometimes referred to as "dog dollars".
The U.S. dollar was created by the Constitution and defined by the Coinage Act of 1792. It specified a "dollar" to be based in the Mexican peso at 1 dollar per peso and between 371 and 416 grains (27.0 g) of silver (depending on purity) and an "eagle" to be between 247 and 270 grains (17 g) of gold (again depending on purity). The choice of the value 371 grains arose from Alexander Hamilton's decision to base the new American unit on the average weight of a selection of worn Spanish dollars (and later Mexican peso). Hamilton got the treasury to weigh a sample of Spanish dollars and the average weight came out to be 371 grains. A new Spanish dollar was usually about 377 grains in weight, and so the new U.S. dollar was at a slight discount in relation to the Spanish dollar.
The Coinage Act of 1792 set the value of an eagle at 10 dollars, and the dollar at 1/10 eagle. It called for 90% silver alloy coins in denominations of 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/10, and 1/20 dollars; it called for 90% gold alloy coins in denominations of 1, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/10 eagles.
The value of gold or silver contained in the dollar was then converted into relative value in the economy for the buying and selling of goods. This allowed the value of things to remain fairly constant over time, except for the influx and outflux of gold and silver in the nation's economy.
The early currency of the USA did not exhibit faces of presidents, as is the custom now. In fact, George Washington was against having his face on the currency, a practice he compared to the policies of European monarchs. The currency as we know it today did not get the faces they currently have until after the early 20th century; before that "heads" side of coinage used profile faces and striding, seated, and standing figures from Greek and Roman mythology and composite native Americans. The last coins to be converted to profiles of historic Americans were the dime (1946) and the Dollar (1971).
