National holidays in the USA

Give the definition what holiday is
National holiday is
a holiday, which is celebrated by the whole nation;
a holiday which unites the citizens of the country and the members of the family;
when people enjoy themselves watching national football matches and parades and go picnicking;
when people remember historical events connected with the glorious pages of the past of the country and mark the anniversary.

Say when the following festivals are celebrated in the USA.
New Year’s Day
St. Valentine’s Day
Independence Day
Memorial Day
Columbus Day
Halloween
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
April Fools’ Day
January 1
February 14
July 4
May 30
October 12
October 31
November,4th Thursday
December 25
April 1
is marked
is celebrated
is observed
is held

New Year’s Day
The New Year's Eve is a time for
merriment. Most Americans spend
this night with friends, at home or
in restaurants. Thousands of people
gather in New York in Times Square
to see the New Year in.
The Tournament of Roses takes place in Pasadena, California, on January 1 each year. Prizes are given to the cities with the most unusual floral compositions.

St. Valentine’s Day
Americans of all ages love to send and receive valentines. Handmade valentines are created by cutting hearts out of coloured paper. Valentines can be heart-shaped, or have hearts, the symbol of love, on them. In elementary schools, children make valentines for their classmates and put them in a large decorated box, similar to a mailbox. On February 14, the teachers open the box and distribute
the valentines to each
student. After the students
read their valentines, they
have a small party with
refreshments.

Independence Day
Independence Day is marked on the 4th of July as the birthday of the United States as a free and independent nation. On this day in 1776 a document, known as the Declaration of Independence, was adopted. Generally, picnics, parades and firework displays are held all over the country on this day.

Memorial Day
Memorial Day comes
on May 30. It is
dedicated to the
memory of those
who died for America
in different wars.
The national flags
are put on the graves of soldiers on this day.

Columbus Day
Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. The crew saw something like a white cliff and cried out: "Tierra! Tierra!". Columbus thought 'that it must be India but it was not. It was a new land — a new continent. It was America. Columbus named the land they had reached San Salvador ("Holy Saviour"). People began to speak about the land as "The new World". In 1620 on the ship "Mayflower" they landed in the north-east of America. They set up a colony and called that part of the country "New England". This holiday is celebrated on 12th of October.

Halloween
Halloween is a festival that takes place on October 31. In the United States children wear costumes and masks and go trick-or-treating. Many of them carve jack-o'-lantens out of pumpkins. Fortunetelling and storytelling about ghosts and witches are popular activities.

Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving Day comes on the fourth Thursday of November. When the first settlers landed in America, their first year was very hard and 50 of 100 people died. But the Indians taught people how to plant corn and wild vegetables and in autumn they got a large harvest. Thanksgiving Day was their holiday, the day of giving thanks to God. It is a family holiday and Americans try to gather all family at home on this day. Turkey is a traditional Thanksgiving Day Food.

Christmas Day
Christmas takes place on December 25. There are some traditions connected with it. One of them is to give presents to each other. It is not only children and members of family who give presents to each other. It's a tradition to give Christmas presents to the people you work with, to give presents to friends, to send them Christmas cards. Another tradition is to have a Christmas Feast. Christmas was a huge celebration filled with lots of eating, drinking, singing, dancing, and gift giving.