What started as a solemn commemoration of dead Civil War soldiers has become a celebration of summer. Here's why that makes total sense.

The push for a national Martin Luther King holiday prompted a fierce political tug-of-war, on campus and off.

Exploring the Celtic origins of everyone's favorite harvest holiday celebrating thresholds between life and death.

For many immigrants to the U.S. in the late 19th century, July 4th was deeply significant: Their own home countries were fighting for independence.

The door to spring is guarded by fools, but that's ok, because they're not all that serious. And everybody knows the password: April Fools!

For most of American history, Washington's Birthday was a really big deal, but, as scholar Barry Schwartz explains, that's changed a lot since the middle of the twentieth century.

The colonial Dutch tradition of making social calls on New Year's Day in New York was no match for 19th-century-style partying.

"Twelfth Night" was more than a Shakespeare play; for a very long time it was an extremely popular European winter feast.

Can schools let students and teachers celebrate religions holidays without violating the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause?

In Europe between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, fireworks displays were performances that told a story or symbolized real-world battles.