Holiday Origins – Founding Documents to Explain Why We Celebrate

One summer I got invited to a 4th of July brunch. Among the logistical details, the invitation read: “Breakfast & a patriotic thought by David.”

“I’ve been waiting all year for this invite,” said one friend.

“Independence Day is always best celebrated with our Canadian-American friends!” said another.

David is Canadian.

Despite holding citizenship north of the border, David loves America.

His patriotic thought was, primarily, a recitation of the Declaration of Independence.

As David pointed out, if you omit the list of grievances against King George III, the document is rather short. Short enough that two people reading out loud and alternating paragraphs is a welcome break during a summer brunch party and not so long to lose anyone’s attention.

I loved it.

I loved that David took us back to the genesis of the 4th of July.

I loved connecting our pancakes, lawn chairs and stamped red-white-and-blue napkins with the American Forefathers, despotism and bold action.

David’s example inspired this assembly of founding documents to read each year with friends and family.

1. New Year’s Eve
2. Epiphany
3. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
   • I Have A Dream (PDF, video)
   • The Drum Major Instinct (pp1-3 abridged, pp4-9 full; video)
4. Valentine’s Day
5. President’s Day
   • George Washington’s Farewell Address (excerpt)
6. St. Patrick’s Day
7. Palm Sunday
8. Easter
9. Memorial Day
   • Honors those who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Originally called ‘Decoration Day’ as families would decorate the graves of fallen family members.
   • Congressmen James A Garfield’s address at Arlington National Cemetery on the First Official National Decoration Day (May 30, 1868; renamed Memorial Day by Congress, 1971)
10. Juneteenth
    • Emancipation Proclamation
    • Gettysburg Address
11. July 4th
    • Declaration of Independence
    • Watch: Whitney Houston’s 1991 Super Bowl performance of The Star-Bangled Banner (alt1, alt2)
    • Read: all four verses of our National Anthem (PDF)
12. Pioneer Day
    • Read: A Priceless Heritage – James E Faust, Apr 1992
    • Read: Address Given by President Marion G. Romney at Welfare Services Meeting Saturday, October 5, 1974
    • Further reading: Dennis A. Wright and Rebekah E. Westrup, “Ensign Peak: A Historical Review,” in Salt Lake City: The Place Which God Prepared, ed. Scott C. Esplin and Kenneth L. Alford (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, 2011), 27–46. 
13. Labor Day
    • Recognizing the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.
    • Bill S-730, enacting Labor Day as a holiday – Aug. 28, 1893
    • President Ronald Reagan Labor Day Message – 1988
14. Rosh Hashanah
15. Yom Kippur
16. Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day
17. Halloween + Dia de los Muertos
18. Veterans Day (Armistice Day)
    • Honors all who have served in the United States Armed Forces.
    • Originally, Armistice Day honored those who brought about the end of the “Great War” (WWI), wherein fighting on the Western Front ended Nov. 11, 1918. Recognized officially by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919.
      • Address to Fellow Countrymen (backup sources 1 and 2)
      • Also see Address to a Joint Session of Congress Concerning the Terms of Armistice Signed by Germany – Nov. 11, 1918
    • In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower honored service personnel returning from WWII and the Korean War by rededicating Nov. 11 as Veterans Day, encouraging Americans to commit themselves to the cause of peace and to honor America’s veterans for their courage, honor, patriotism and sacrifice.
      • Proclamation 3071—Veteran’s Day, 1954
19. Thanksgiving
    • President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation – October 3, 1863
    • The Mayflower Compact
20. Advent
21. Christmas