不了解点英美文化学英语总像瘸子。 因此开新帖介绍美国文化。 因为刚刚过完了中秋，所以本帖介绍节日。
其实美国类似中国中秋节的节日不是Christmas 而是Thanksgiving. 许多美国人都会在Thanksgiving 回家，无论多远。

先说说Federal Holidays: USA Federal Holidays and Celebrations--(Work schedules may or may not be affected by these holidays):

New Year's Day, January 1st.
Birthday of Martin Luther King, third Monday in January.
Inauguration Day, January 20th every four years, starting in 1937.
Washington's Birthday, third Monday in February since 1971; prior to that year, it was celebrated on the traditional date of February 22.
Inauguration Day, March 4th every four years, pre-1937.
Armed Forces Day, third Saturday in May.
Memorial Day, last Monday in May since 1971; from 1868 to 1970 it was celebrated on May 30, and was called Decoration Day for part of that time.
Flag Day, June 14th.
United States of America's Independence Day, July 4.
Labor Day, first Monday in September.
Columbus Day, second Monday in October (federal holiday since 1971).
Election Day, Tuesday on or after November 2.
Veterans Day, November 11th (except from 1971 to 1977, inclusive, when it was celebrated on the fourth Monday in October; formerly known as Armistice).
Thanksgiving Day, fourth Thursday in November.
Christmas Day, December 25th.

其他节庆：
Other Widely Celebrated Observances --(These usually don't affect work schedules)

Groundhog Day, February 2.
Lincoln's Birthday, February 12.
Valentine's Day, February 14.
Washington's Birthday, February 22.
St. Patrick's Day, March 17.
April Fools's Day, April 1.
Earth Day, April 22 (since 1970; see Earthday.net)
Administrative Assistants' Day, which once upon a time was Secretaries' Day, is the Wednesday of the last full week of April (that is, the Wednesday before the last Saturday in April) since 1955.
Arbor Day is often the last Friday in April (since 1872), but since planting conditions vary, it may occur from September to May; please consult the National Arbor Day Foundation's list of Arbor Day Dates.
Mothers' Day, second Sunday in May (36 USC Sec. 142).
Fathers' Day, third Sunday in June (36 USC Sec. 142a).
Parents' Day, fourth Sunday in July (36 USC Sec. 142c).
Grandparents' Day, Sunday after Labor Day (36 USC Sec. 142b).
Columbus Day (traditional), October 12.
United Nations Day, October 24.
Halloween, October 31.


[ 此贴被dyrz在2006-10-08 12:41重新编辑 ]

今天是美国的Halloween。Halloween节日不光孩子们喜欢，大人也一样喜欢，因为这一天给了人们一个冠冕堂皇的理由dress up in costumes. 有些人甚至自己设计各种奇装异服，让人们的creativity纵情挥洒。
在纽约，每年Halloween 晚上的parade也是大事一桩（big deal）。身着各色各样的奇装异服的游行人群一队队地从Greewich Village 出发沿六大道游行。大道两旁挤满了看游行的人们。看那些游行的人们用尽心思去设计各种主题，你不得不佩服老美文化的多元性和包容性及创意。去年我在现场观看，可惜人太多，老美又人高马大，所以视角甚受影响。今年改在家里看电视现场直播了。这一天真的与众不同。难怪Will&Grace中的Jack说Halloween is the only day that makes the other 364 days bearable.

Per your reminder I forgot wishing my boss have a nice Halloween yesteray...

It should be ok. Not everybody loves Halloween. But do remember to wish him/her a happy Thanksgiving, a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Yesterday was Thanks Giving. Did you consider what you would like to thank for? Family, friends, opportunities, supporters...

这一段时间太忙了，连Thanksgiving大假都在加班。转眼又是Christmas了，就把Thanksgiving 和Christmas 一起说一下吧。大家都知道的ABC的东西我就不多说了。

在纽约，Thanksgiving当天会有Parade，电视台直播节目，看起来有点像咱们的春晚。另外，商店都会在Thanksgiving Holiday 大减价，回馈顾客。在Thanksgiving 当天从零点起直到正午，有许多店还会参与Thanksgiving Madness，在Thanksgiving Holiday discount 基础上给打更大的折扣。这样双重减价，商品价格比平时要便宜50%甚至更多。因此有很多人半夜就去排长龙买自己喜欢的东西。
我觉得奇怪的是在Thanksgiving 的时候大家是不送礼物的。你如果感激别人，是在Christmas 时送礼的。Christmas 实在是个很昂贵的节日。比如说在律所，律师要捐款给行政人员买礼物。虽然表面上说自愿的，但会有多次E-mail提醒，还会有人到你办公室讨要，相信没人会那么厚脸皮的。各律所的标准会不一样，我们这里是100美元。 另外律师还要给自己的秘书买礼物，我们这里也是100美元左右。此外，租房的Manager, super 等等人都期待你给送礼。当然有许多人都不送。不送的话他们可能会不开心。从各种意义上讲，Christmas 都相当于咱们中国的春节。

Merry Christmas!

leon，圣诞快乐！看来你少不了要破费一番了