Read Across America Day

Read Across America Day is a holiday that encourages reading for all ages. While the focus is on children who are in the middle of mastering reading skills, book lovers young and old participate in this special day. It falls on March 2^nd, which is the same day as Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Schools heavily promote this holiday, but it is also equally important for parents to encourage participation from all at home.

History

Read Across America Day was founded by the National Education Association (NEA) in 1997. The NEA is an organization of current and retired teachers and other education professionals, as well as parents and prospective teachers. The group unanimously voted on an idea for a holiday that would promote reading and literacy of all ages on a national scale. Subsequently, the very first Read Across America Day was celebrated on March 2, 1998.

Many symbols are linked to the holiday. The NEA’s national symbol is often utilized in promotional materials, as well as graphics of books and children reading.

Impact of Dr. Seuss

Before Read Across America Day could officially launch, members of the NEA had to choose an appropriate date. March 2^nd was chosen because it was the same date as the birthday of the beloved children’s author, Dr. Seuss.

Born Theodor Seuss Geisel, Dr. Seuss remains one of the most popular children’s books author of all time. He is famous for classics, such as Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Ten Apples Up on Top and Horton Hears a Who. These stories are not only silly and fun in nature, but the rhyming has helped children learn how to read over the years. In fact, many of Seuss’s books are published today with icons on the covers to help parents indicate whether the particular title is a good independent read, or if it is more appropriate to read together. Children and adults both love these classic books.

Dr. Seuss died at 87 years old in 1991. Since his death, his birthday has been observed to celebrate children’s literature. When the NEA decided to take the celebrations a step further by creating a national Read Across America Day, citizens were more than happy to oblige.

Annual Celebrations

Since the holiday falls on Dr. Seuss’s birthday, much of the celebrations of Read Across America Day involve the famous children’s writer. Most schools allow students to wear Cat in the Hat hats, as well as silly socks or other famous wardrobe pieces from the author’s books. Some cafeterias even make green eggs and ham. Local libraries often participate through book fairs and special readings from children’s authors.

While schools tend to keep the celebrations silly and fun in nature to engage the kids, there are many more serious issues at stake when considering Read Across America Day. Millions of adults are illiterate because they did not have opportunities to read as children. This holiday promotes the importance of reading across all ages to help improve quality of life. Without essential reading skills, adults cannot complete day-to-day tasks or gain optimal employment.

Special Considerations

Read Across America Day is officially on March 2^nd, which falls on the birthday of Dr. Seuss. However, due to the wide participation by schools, the day is celebrated on the closest weekday whenever the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday. For example, March 2, 2013 is on a Saturday, so schools will observe Read Across America Day on Friday, March 1^st. In 2014, public schools will celebrate the day on Monday, March 3^rd.

Read Across America Day Gift Ideas

Groundhog Day

To some, Groundhog Day is the 1993 Bill Murray comedy film. To the rest of the nation, Groundhog Day marks the North American holiday that is celebrated every year on February 2^nd in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The premise of the holiday is based around a legend that a groundhog by the name of Punxsutawney Phil can help predict the longevity of winter weather.

According to folklore the groundhog can predict the weather based on whether or not it sees its shadow after popping out of a burrow. If the animal sees its shadow and is afraid to come out of the burrow, then this means winter will extend for six weeks. On the flipside, if Phil doesn’t see his shadow and comes out of the burrow, which means wintry weather conditions will end soon. Spectators hope for the latter, as this indicates an early spring in both the U.S. and Canada.

Early Beginnings

Groundhog Day is based on a legend that is thought to be derived from the pagan holiday, Imbolc, which also falls on February 2^nd. Legend says that bears and other animals come out of hibernation on the day of Imbolc. German and French settlers in the United States took these stories with them, especially in the western Pennsylvania region of Punxsutawney. It is thought that the modern tradition of Groundhog Day began in the mid-1800s.

Role of Punxsutawney Phil

Punxsutawney Phil is the official groundhog for the holiday celebrations. He lives in Punxsutawney full-time with his wife, Phyllis. Both groundhogs receive royal treatment from the town and they get to live a cozy life in the library. Every year he is let outside on Groundhog Day to make his weather predictions. Phil is a beloved symbol of the town, and he has made the holiday quite a tourist attraction.

Phil’s weather predictions are debatable, as well as his real age. According to die-hard Punxsutawney Phil fans, only one groundhog has made the weather predictions for over 120 years since the tradition started. However, groundhogs are said to have a lifespan of six to 14 years, depending on their health and surroundings.

Past Predictions

Legends utilize the casting of the groundhog’s shadow as a serious matter. However, modern Groundhog Day has transformed into more of a fun day rather than an accurate weather prediction.  Punxsutawney Phil’s weather predictions are about 39 percent accurate, according to reports by LiveScience.  More often than not, the groundhog sees his shadow, indicating six more weeks of winter. This can be accurate to some degree, given the fact that the holiday falls on February 2^nd, while the winter season runs from late December to the middle of March.

Still, spectators at the annual event in Punxsutawney anxiously await the results from Phil in hopes of an early spring. While early springs do indeed occur, the weather patterns can vary by region. In 2011, Phil did not see his shadow, while the groundhog did see his shadow during the 2012 celebrations. With early winter conditions experienced in many regions of the country, many people will surely be hoping that Phil doesn’t see his shadow on February 2, 2013.

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Lincoln’s Birthday

Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest Presidents to ever serve the United States. Not only did he abolish slavery in the country, but he is also responsible for bringing the Union back together after the Civil War. The 16^th president lived a relatively short life, dying in 1865 at the age of 56 after being assassinated. Due to Lincoln’s great achievements, the United States recognizes February 12 every year, which was this president’s birthday.

President Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in the small town of Hodgenville, Kentucky. He lived a modest family life, but was instilled many of the values that would later shape his presidency. His family was opposed to slavery, and they eventually settled down in free territory. As he grew into adulthood, he eventually relocated to what would be his home state of Illinois.

Abraham Lincoln started a career in public service early in life. First, he served as captain to the Illinois military during the Black Hawk War. After his services ended, Lincoln made a run for the Illinois General Assembly, which is better known as the state legislature today. He would go on to lose that seat because of a lack of money, but he still gained quite a following. Eventually he would become a lawyer as well as an Illinois Congressman. He lost a race for U.S. Senator due to his anti-slavery views. During his early career, he was given the nickname of “Honest Abe.”

In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was nominated by the Republican Party’s presidential candidate. He would go onto win the presidency, during which would become one of the most difficult eras in U.S. history. While President Lincoln already had his sights set on abolishing slavery, he also had to contend with the south seceding from the Union over this issue. Attempts to appeal to the South failed, and this war-hating president was forced to declare a civil war in order to save the United States.

During the Civil War, President Lincoln wasted no time in abolishing slavery. On New Year’s Day in 1863, slavery was abolished in all federal territories, thanks to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. This extended not only within the Union, but down to the Confederate states, too. This was one of the greatest achievements of his presidency, and it set the stage for the over-due Civil Rights movement that would occur a century later.

Lincoln was reelected in 1864 during the final months of the Civil War. The war officially ended on April 9, 1865 and all the states united once again. Sadly, President Lincoln didn’t get to witness much of the Reconstruction Era after the war, as he was mortally shot just five days later on April 14, 1865. The assassination was carried out in Washington D.C.’s Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated.

The nation subsequently went into mourning after Lincoln’s assassination and his birthday was quickly declared a holiday. Lincoln’s Birthday was first celebrated in 1874 in Buffalo, New York. While February 12 isn’t considered a Federal holiday like President’s Day, it is still observed as a day of remembrance with ceremonies every year.

Lincoln’s Birthday is commemorated every year in his hometown of Hodgenville. The small town has designated his birthplace as a National Historic Site. On February 12, Hodgenville carries out a small ceremony in remembrance of Honest Abe.

In addition to the annual Hodgenville ceremony, Lincoln’s Birthday is also celebrated at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The memorial first opened in 1922 and has carried out a special birthday celebration every year since.

A special birthday celebration was held in 2009 to honor the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birthday. During that year, the U.S. mint released four new pennies. Each features one of four different stages of his life on the backs of each coin.

Black Friday

This falls on the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, on the fourth Friday in November each year.

Black Friday is a holiday in some states, but often people just take the time off anyway, with some employers giving staff a free day as part of their Thanksgiving leave. Many organizations are shut for the whole weekend, and some public transport schedules may change.

It heralds the start of the annual holiday shopping season, as the first day following the final big holiday before Christmas, and, for the last seven years, has been the busiest shopping day of the year. There is also an online version – Cyber Black Friday.

Virtually all retailers offer goods at discount prices on some items, especially things like toys.

Increasingly, stores are opening their doors to customers before dawn, often as early as 4am, with sale prices and offers to kick-start the season. In fact, in 2011, some retailers took the “early opening” concept to a new extreme by letting shoppers in at midnight for the first time.

In 2012, this was set to increase still further, with some retailers even announcing plans to break with tradition by opening up as early as 8pm or 10pm on Thanksgiving night, creating a “Black Thursday.”

Although historically sale offers have continued into the weekend, in recent years, this has started to drop off as retailers aim to give a greater sense of urgency for their bargains to be snapped up immediately.

Use of the term Black Friday started before the early 1960s, and was first used in Philadelphia. Originally, it described the heavy, disruptive traffic of pedestrians and vehicles which filled the city on the day after Thanksgiving, leaving dark markings on the road. Heavy traffic lasted into the weekend, so that there would also be a “Black Saturday.” (And, in fact, you can still expect congestion.)

In the mid-1970s, “Black Friday” began to be used more widely outside Philadelphia.

There have been past attempts to rename the Day “Big” Friday, but these were not successful.

An alternative explanation for the name is that it marks the point, or day, when retailers start to make a profit on their sales, or be “in the black.”

While Black Friday is traditionally a US occasion, Canadian retailers have created their own version of it to try and stop the increasingly common practise of Canadians crossing the border to take advantage of the lower prices. Canada (and the UK and some other countries) have Boxing Day sales on the day after Christmas which are similar shopping occasions.

In recent years, some of the big web-based retailers including Apple and Amazon, among others, have taken the idea of Black Friday outside North America thanks to the Internet. One study of 500 retailers found in 2011 that Black Friday sales were up nearly a quarter.

Of course, not everyone uses Black Friday to shop! Some people may also use their free day to visit family or friends or have a short vacation.