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Holidays

Learn about popular holidays celebrated in the United States

Learn about popular holidays like Valentine's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and more.

Within this Collection

Collection Armed Forces Day
Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day is celebrated the third Saturday in May to honor Americans serving in the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Collection Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo
Collection Constitution Day
Constitution Day

Constitution Day falls on September 17 or an adjacent weekday, if that date falls on a weekend or holiday.

Collection Halloween
Halloween

Halloween is celebrated annually on October 31.

Collection Independence Day
Independence Day

A day Americans commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. View our galleries of historical documents that set the foundation for the United States and find resources on the American flag.

Collection Juneteenth
Juneteenth

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. See also our Bill of Rights Collection and our International Day of Democracy Collection.

Collection Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Collection Memorial Day
Memorial Day

Memorial Day honors all Americans who have died in service to their country. It falls on the last Monday in May.

Collection National Submarine Day
National Submarine Day

April 11 was the day the Navy acquired its first modern submarined, named Holland VI. It not only honors the submarine, the historic day or the Navy, but also the rich history that submarines have in this country...

Collection Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving Day
Collection Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day

Learn about the origins of Valentine's Day and also download some cool printables.

Collection Veterans Day
Veterans Day

Veterans Day is a special day for honoring all who have served in the armed forces. The origins of the holiday date back to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who proclaimed Armistice Day on Nov. 11, 1919 to mark the...

Collection Winter Holidays
Winter Holidays

During the winter months, we celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and the New Year!

Content Type
The Island War, Part 4 4

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Island War, Part 4
Episode 4
As U.S. troops captured island after island, Japan felt the war slipping away. At Leyte Gulf, Japan lost its navy. In the Philippines, it lost its footing. MacArthur captured the world stage and the...
The Island War, Part 3 3

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Island War, Part 3
Episode 3
Veterans recall Leyte Island in the Philippines and describe their experiences there in detail. They also provide reflections on the starving Philippine children, as well as adults, and they recall...
The Island War, Part 6 6

Video

Grades

  • 3
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  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Island War, Part 6
Episode 6
One of our veterans recalls the bombing of Iwo Jima, and going below to his quarters to get a little sleep. He opened his Bible and it fell open to the 91st Psalm, which he reads. Our veterans discuss...
The Island War, Part 5 5

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Island War, Part 5
Episode 5
With Japan's navy in ruins, America unleashed its air forces. Our veterans describe their experiences, their training, and the aircraft they flew.
The Island War, Part 1 1

Video

Grades

  • 5
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Higher Education
The Island War, Part 1
Episode 1
Veterans recall the brutality of war with the Japanese, their allegiance to their emperor, the tropical heat, the jungle, the danger of the rocky reefs, and the threat of malaria, for which they took...
The Island War, Part 4 - The Return | South Carolinians in WW II - Episode 4 The Island War, Part 2 2

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Higher Education
The Island War, Part 2
Episode 2
Women discuss serving in the WAVES, the SPARS, the WACS, the WAFS, and the WASPS. All the services needed women during this period. Our women veterans remember many of the details of their service...
The Rising Sun, Part 4 4

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Higher Education
The Rising Sun, Part 4
Episode 4
Fritz Hamer, military historian, explains that Japan was an industrial power, but it needed the resources to maintain it. Japan's purpose was to nullify the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor, then destroy the...
The Rising Sun, Part 5 5

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Higher Education
The Rising Sun, Part 5
Episode 5
Midway Island was a U.S. outpost located about a thousand miles west of Hawaii. Prior to World War II, it was basically a weather station with some U.S. Naval groups on it to protect it. The Japanese...
The Rising Sun, Part 7 7

Video

Grades

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Higher Education
The Rising Sun, Part 7
Episode 7
The island of Guadalcanal, in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific, was the major offensive area for the Japanese, in order to control Australia and the South Pacific. Veterans and historians reflect on...
The Rising Sun, Part 6 6

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Higher Education
The Rising Sun, Part 6
Episode 6
Veterans recall what life onboard a Navy ship was like, including being bored, being seasick, how crowded they were, the schedule, poker and Monopoly, gambling, learning to drink, including some...
The Rising Sun, Part 2 2

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
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  • 12
  • Higher Education
The Rising Sun, Part 2
Episode 2
The segment includes reflections on training at Parris Island.
The Rising Sun, Part 1 1

Video

Grades

  • 5
  • 8
The Rising Sun, Part 1
Episode 1
This segment includes the Marine Corps Hymn, reflections on the attraction that the Marine Corps has for young people who want to serve, and memories of some individuals who made the decision to sign...
The Rising Sun, Part 3 3

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Higher Education
The Rising Sun, Part 3
Episode 3
Veterans remember arriving after the attack on Pearl Harbor and seeing how devastating the losses to the United States Navy were. They didn't realize that well over 2,000 people had been killed...
A World War, Part 5 5

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
A World War, Part 5
Episode 5
Veterans and family members recall the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor in detail.
A World War, Part 7 7

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
A World War, Part 7
Episode 7
This segment focuses on how the Japanese took control of the Pacific waters. The Philippines had been promised their independence. Within hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese turned...
A World War, Part 8 8

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
A World War, Part 8
Episode 8
The damage done to the American ships at Pearl Harbor is discussed. The devastation was hard to accept. The one thing the Japanese had missed was the tank farm where all of the fuel was stored. It was...
A World War, Part 4 4

Video

Grades

  • 3
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  • 9
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A World War, Part 4
Episode 4
Veterans share their recollections of the day that Pearl Harbor was attacked. They were at war again.
A World War, Part 3 3

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Higher Education
A World War, Part 3
Episode 3
Japan needed resources and could only get them from other countries. The United States continued to try to prevent this. Japan sent an envoy to try to negotiate some sort of compromise, but the...
A World War, Part 2 2

Video

Grades

  • 5
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A World War, Part 2
Episode 2
"The American soldiers arrived, and the tanks came in and ran over those big, high fences like they were matchboxes." Veterans provide their remembrances of the end of the war in Europe and the...
A World War, Part 1 1

Video

Grades

  • 5
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Higher Education
A World War, Part 1
Episode 1
German soldiers were surrendering so fast, they just would surrender a whole unit and we couldn't handle them all. The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) was announcing "Today in Europe, the war is...
Liberation, Part 3 3

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Higher Education
Liberation, Part 3
Episode 3
Veterans reflect on being captured and taken prisoner or killed by the Germans. It was bitter cold, but the Americans knew better than to complain. There was never any food and there was nothing to...
Liberation, Part 6 6

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Higher Education
Liberation, Part 6
Episode 6
Veterans who arrived to rescue people in the camps describe what they saw; human skeletons barely alive, and some not able to walk. Some were fed too much, too soon, and died from overeating. Bodies...
Liberation, Part 5 5

Video

Grades

  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Higher Education
Liberation, Part 5
Episode 5
The Siegfried Line ran along the entire border of Germany from north to south. There was barbed wire, and there were land mines, and Dragon's Teeth, which were concrete blocks, that no tank could pass...