# History of the Holidays: Table of Contents

> History of the Holidays articles are written and curated by Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian. If you'd like to receive these articles on each holiday by email, simply click here to join the mailing list. Bill Petro earned his Bachelor's Degree…
> URL: https://billpetro.com/historyoftheholidays/
> Last modified: 2024-03-04T17:56:27+00:00

## [History of the Holidays](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-holidays/)

articles are written and curated by

*[Bill Petro](https://billpetro.com/bio), your friendly neighborhood historian.*

If you’d like to receive these articles on each holiday by email, simply click *[here](http://g003.enterprise.ipost.com/billpetrofriend/prefs)* to join the mailing list.

---

Bill Petro earned his Bachelor’s Degree in History at the **[University of California, Berkeley](https://www.berkeley.edu/)**. He studied Ancient history as well as a comprehensive study of the history of Christian and early Jewish history.

His history thesis was on *19th Century American Evangelicalism*. He has done post-graduate work in church history and historical theology, contributing content to several books.

He began writing articles on the History of the Holidays and distributing them by email and the Internet on *[Usenet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet)* in **1985**, a decade before the [World Wide Web](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-internet).

A Bibliography of some of the sources appears [here](https://www.billpetro.com/bibliography).

## History Articles by Month

***January***
***February***
***March***

[New Year’s Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-new-years-day)
[Groundhog Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-groundhog-day)
[Daylight Saving Starting](https://billpetro.com/history-of-daylight-saving-time)

[New Year’s Resolutions](https://billpetro.com/history-of-new-years-resolutions)
[Super Bowl](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-super-bowl)
[Ides of March](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-ides-of-march) Mar 14

[Epiphany](https://billpetro.com/history-of-epiphany-12th-night), Jan 6
[Valentines Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-st-valentines-day), Feb 14
[St. Patrick’s Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-st-patricks-day) Mar 17

[Ben Franklin](https://billpetro.com/history-of-ben-franklin)
[Presidents’ Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-presidents-day)
[St. Joseph’s Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-st-joseph) Mar 19

[Martin Luther King, Jr.](https://billpetro.com/history-of-martin-luther-king-jr)

[Spring Equinox](https://billpetro.com/history-spring/)

[Australia Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-australia-day)

[World Backup Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-world-backup-day)

*[Pre-Easter series](#history-of-pre-easter)*

***April***
***May***
***June***

[April Fools Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-april-fools-day). Apr 1
[May Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-may-day), May 1
[June](https://billpetro.com/history-of-june/)

[Holocaust Remembrance](https://billpetro.com/history-of-holocaust-remembrance-day/), Apr 8
[Cinco de Mayo](https://billpetro.com/history-of-cinco-de-mayo), May 5
[D-Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-d-day), Jun 6

[Civil War’s 1st Shot](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-civil-war-when-was-the-first-shot-2/), Apr 12
[Memorial Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-memorial-day)
[Pentecost](https://billpetro.com/history-of-pentecost)

[April 19](https://billpetro.com/history-of-april-19)
[Memorial Day: Why We Fight](https://billpetro.com/history-of-memorial-day-why-we-fight)
[Flag Day](https://billpetro.com/history-flag-day/), Jun 14

[Earth Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-earth-day), Apr 22

[Father’s Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-fathers-day)

[St George and the Dragon](https://billpetro.com/history-of-st-george/), Apr 23

[Juneteenth](https://billpetro.com/history-of-juneteenth), Jun 19

[St Mark](https://billpetro.com/st-mark/), Apr 25

[Summer Solstice](https://billpetro.com/science-of-the-summer-solstice-2/)

[World Tai Chi Day](https://billpetro.com/history-world-tai-chi-day/)

[All You Need Is Love](https://billpetro.com/history-of-all-you-need-is-love/)

[Liberation of Dachau](https://billpetro.com/history-of-dachau-70-years), Apr 29

[John the Baptist Day](https://billpetro.com/st-john-the-baptist/), Jun 24

*[Easter series](#history-of-easter)*

*[Summer of Love Series](https://billpetro.com/tag/summer-of-love/?order=asc)*

***July***
***August***
***September***

[July](https://billpetro.com/history-of-july)
[August](https://billpetro.com/history-of-august)
[History of the Holidays](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-holidays)

[Canada Day](https://billpetro.com/history-canada-day/), Jul 1
[Infinity Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-infinity-day), Aug 8
[September](https://billpetro.com/history-of-september)

[Independence Day, July 4](https://billpetro.com/history-of-independence-day)
[Woodstock](https://billpetro.com/history-of-woodstock/), Aug 15
[Labor Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-labor-day)

[John Adams](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-4th-of-july-john-adams/)
[California Gold Rush](https://billpetro.com/history-of-gold-rush/), Aug 19
[Fall of the Roman Empire](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire/), Sept 4

[Thomas Jefferson](https://billpetro.com/history-of-thomas-jefferson)
[19th Amendment: Women’s Right to Vote](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-19th-amendment-womens-right-to-vote-100-years-ago/), Aug 26
[Star Trek](https://billpetro.com/history-of-star-trek), Sept 8

[John Madison](https://billpetro.com/history-of-james-madison/)
 [I Have A Dream](https://billpetro.com/history-of-i-have-a-dream), Aug, 28
[Patriot Day: 9/11](https://billpetro.com/history-of-patriot-day-9-11/)

[Alexander Hamilton](https://billpetro.com/history-of-john-calvin/)

[Ethiopian New Year](https://billpetro.com/history-of-ethiopian-new-year), Sept 12

[John Calvin](https://billpetro.com/history-of-john-calvin/), Jul 9

[US Constitution](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-constitution/), Sept 17

[French Fries](https://billpetro.com/history-of-french-fries/), Jul 13

[Fall: Autumnal Equinox](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-fall)

[Bastille Day](https://billpetro.com/history-bastille-day/), Jul 14

[Octoberfest: Why is it in September?](https://billpetro.com/history-of-oktoberfest)

[Moon Landing](https://billpetro.com/history-of-1st-moon-landing-apollo-11/), Jul 20

[Talk Like a Pirate Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-talk-like-a-pirate-day), Sept 11

[William Wilberforce](https://billpetro.com/history-of-alexander-hamilton/), Jul 26

[Aspens](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-aspens)

*Reek Sunday Series*, parts [1](https://billpetro.com/history-of-reek-sunday-part-1-tradition), [2](https://billpetro.com/history-of-reek-sunday-part-2-pilgrimage), [3](https://billpetro.com/history-of-reek-sunday-part-3-location)

[Coffee](https://billpetro.com/history-of-coffee), Sept 29

***October***
***November***
***December***

[October: the Pumpkin Spice Saga](https://billpetro.com/history-of-october), Oct 1
[Election Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-election-day)
[*Christmas series*](#history-of-christmas)

[42 Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-october-10/), October 10
[Guy Fawkes](https://billpetro.com/history-of-guy-fawkes), Nov 5
[Chanukah](https://billpetro.com/history-of-chanukah/)

[Christopher Columbus](https://billpetro.com/history-of-christopher-columbus/), Oct 12
[Veterans Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-guy-fawkes), Nov 11
[Winter Solstice](https://billpetro.com/science-of-winter-solstice/)

[Mach 1](https://billpetro.com/history-of-mach-1), Oct 14
*[Thanksgiving Series](#history-of-thanksgiving)*

[Marathon](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-marathon)
[Squanto](https://billpetro.com/history-of-thanksgiving-friendly-indian)

[World Series](https://billpetro.com/history-world-series/)
[Black Friday](https://billpetro.com/history-of-black-friday/)

[Internet](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-internet), Oct 29

[Halloween](https://billpetro.com/history-of-halloween), Oct 31

[Kirking of the Tartan](https://billpetro.com/history-of-kirking-of-the-tartans)

[Martin Luther: 95 Theses](https://billpetro.com/history-of-october-31), Oct 31

[Information Reformation](https://billpetro.com/information-reformation)

Series:

## [History of Coronavirus & Pandemics series](https://billpetro.com/tag/plague/?order=asc):

[History of Pandemics: What Can They Teach Us About Coronavirus?](https://billpetro.com/history-of-pandemics)
[History of Quarantine](https://billpetro.com/history-of-quarantine/)
[History of How Pandemics End: Implications for Today’s COVID-19](https://billpetro.com/history-of-how-pandemics-end)
[History of the 1st Year of Coronavirus: It Ain’t Over Yet](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-1st-year-of-coronavirus-it-aint-over-yet/)

[Faith in a Time of Plague](https://billpetro.com/the-history-of-faith-in-a-time-of-plague/)
[History of Vaccines: What This Means For Coronavirus](https://billpetro.com/history-of-vaccines)
[History of Coronavirus: How Will It End?](https://billpetro.com/history-of-coronavirus/)

## History of Pre-Easter (Lent) series:

[Shrove Monday](https://billpetro.com/history-of-shrove-monday)
[Mardi Gras](https://billpetro.com/history-of-mardi-gras)
[Ash Wednesday](https://billpetro.com/history-of-ash-wednesday)

## History of Easter series:

[Easter](https://billpetro.com/history-of-easter)
[Herod Antipas](https://billpetro.com/history-of-herod-antipas)
[Good Friday](https://billpetro.com/history-of-good-friday)

[Historical Climate](https://billpetro.com/history-easter-historical-climate/)
[The Sanhedrin](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-sanhedrin)
[The Players](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-players)

[Palm Sunday](https://billpetro.com/history-of-palm-sunday)
[Maundy Thursday](https://billpetro.com/history-of-maundy-thursday)
*fifty days later*…

[Pontius Pilate](https://billpetro.com/history-of-pontius-pilate)
[The Trial](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-trial)
[Pentecost](https://billpetro.com/history-of-pentecost)

## History of Thanksgiving series:

[Thanksgiving](https://billpetro.com/history-of-thanksgiving)
[1st Thanksgiving Proclamation – 1676](https://billpetro.com/HolidayHistory/hol/thanks2.html)
[Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation – 1863](https://billpetro.com/abraham-lincolns-thanksgiving-proclamation-1863/)

[Squanto: Friendly Indian](https://billpetro.com/history-of-thanksgiving-friendly-indian)
[George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation – 1789](https://billpetro.com/george-washingtons-thanksgiving-proclamation-1789/)
[Black Friday](https://billpetro.com/history-of-black-friday/)

## History of Christmas series:

[Advent](https://billpetro.com/history-of-christmas-advent/)
[Herod the Great](https://billpetro.com/history-of-king-herod)
[Santa Tracker](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-santa-tracker)

[Nativity Season](https://billpetro.com/history-of-christmas-nativity/)
[Poinsettia](https://billpetro.com/history-of-poinsettia/), Dec 12
[Battle of the Bulge](https://billpetro.com/history-of-christmas-eve-and-the-battle-of-the-bulge)

[Year](https://billpetro.com/history-of-christmas-year/)
[Santa Lucia](https://billpetro.com/history-of-santa-lucia/), Dec 13
[Polish Wafer](https://billpetro.com/history-of-christmas-eve/), Dec 24

[Traditions](https://billpetro.com/history-of-christmas-traditions/)
[Star](https://billpetro.com/history-of-christmas-star/)
[WWI Christmas Truce](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-christmas-truce), Dec 25

[Sacred Oratorio](https://billpetro.com/history-of-christmas-sacred-oratorio)
[Mistletoe](https://billpetro.com/history-of-mistletoe/)
[Bo](https://billpetro.com/history-of-boxing-day/)[xing Day/St. Stephen’s Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-boxing-day/), Dec 26

[Music](https://billpetro.com/history-of-christmas-music/)
[Magi](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-wise-men/)
[Feast of St. John](https://billpetro.com/history-of-feast-of-st-john), Dec 27

[Creche: Manger scene](https://billpetro.com/history-of-creche/)
[Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?](https://billpetro.com/die-hard-a-christmas-movie/)
[Fruitcake](https://billpetro.com/history-of-fruitcake/), Dec 27

[Santa Claus](https://billpetro.com/history-of-santa-claus/), Dec 6
[Christmas Carol](https://billpetro.com/history-of-a-christmas-carol/), Dec 19
[Childermas](https://billpetro.com/history-of-childermas), Dec 28

[12 Days of Christmas](https://billpetro.com/history-of-12-days-of-christmas/)
[5 Christmas Myths](https://billpetro.com/5-christmas-myths)
[Auld Lang Syne](https://billpetro.com/history-of-auld-lang-syne/)

[Christmas Tree](https://billpetro.com/history-of-christmas-tree/), Dec 8
[Winter Solstice](https://billpetro.com/science-of-winter-solstice/), Dec 21
[Epiphany](https://billpetro.com/history-of-epiphany), Jan 6

[A Charlie Brown Christmas](https://billpetro.com/history-charlie-brown-christmas-50-years-ago/), Dec 9
[Caesar Augustus](https://billpetro.com/history-of-christmas-caesar-augustus)

## History of Jewish Holidays series:

[Rosh Hashanah](https://billpetro.com/history-of-rosh-hashana/)
[Chanukah](https://billpetro.com/history-of-chanukah/)
[Passover](https://billpetro.com/history-of-passover)
[Yom Kippur](https://billpetro.com/history-of-yom-kippur)
[Sukkot](https://billpetro.com/history-of-sukkot)

## *Special Topics series:*

[Geek Holidays](https://billpetro.com/geek/)
[Life of Martin Luther](https://billpetro.com/martin-luther/?order=asc)
[Touching on Star Trek](https://billpetro.com/tag/star-trek)

[Founding Fathers](https://billpetro.com/tag/founding-father/?order=asc)
[Travel Articles](https://billpetro.com/travel/?order=asc)
[The Beatles](https://billpetro.com/tag/beatles)

[Politics](https://billpetro.com/politics/?order=asc)
[Liberation of Dachau](https://billpetro.com/tag/liberation_of_dachau/?order=asc)

## Miscellaneous History of the Holidays articles:

[Leap Year](https://billpetro.com/history-of-leap-year)
[William Wilberforce](https://billpetro.com/william-wilberforce/)
 [9-11-01: America Tested](https://www.billpetro.com/HolidayHistory/hol/americatested.html)

[Charles Dickens: 200 Years](https://billpetro.com/history-of-charles-dickens)
[09-09-09](https://billpetro.com/history-of-090909/)
 [9-11-02: One Year On](https://www.billpetro.com/HolidayHistory/hol/9-11-2002.html)

[J.S. Bach](https://www.billpetro.com/HolidayHistory/hol/bach.html)
[Summer of Love: Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll](https://billpetro.com/tag/summer-of-love/?order=asc)
 [Beethoven: 250th Anniversary](https://billpetro.com/history-of-beethoven)

Amazing Grace, parts [1](https://billpetro.com/history-of-amazing-grace-part-1/), [2](https://billpetro.com/history-of-amazing-grace-part-2/)
[ 2020: Not the Beginning of the Decade?](https://billpetro.com/history-of-2020-start-of-the-new-decade)
 [Marathon](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-marathon)

## **Pop Culture Reviews**:

[Movies](https://billpetro.com/movies)
[Concerts](https://billpetro.com/concert)
[Theatre](https://billpetro.com/theatre)
[Books](https://billpetro.com/books)

 

 

**Europe**
**Latin America**
**U.S.**

Italy: [Driving in Italy](https://billpetro.com/driving-in-italy/)
[Let’s Float Down to Peru](https://billpetro.com/lets-float-down-to-peru/)
Maine: [How I Spent My Summer Vacation](https://billpetro.com/how-i-spent-my-summer-vacation/)

Italy: [Serendipity in Travel](https://billpetro.com/serendipity/)

Italy: [Florence Galleria – Michelangelo’s David](https://billpetro.com/florence-galleria-michelangelos-david/)

Italy: [Roman Forum](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-ides-of-march)

Italy: [Rome in a Day](https://billpetro.com/italy-tour-rome/)

Italy: [Florence in a Day](https://billpetro.com/italy-tour-florence/)

Italy: [Venice in a Day](https://billpetro.com/italy-tour-venice/)

Italy: [Naples in a Day](https://billpetro.com/italy-tour-naples-in-a-day-pizza/)

Italy: [Pisa in a Day](https://billpetro.com/italy-tour-pisa/)

Ireland: [Reek Sunday, part 1 – Tradition](https://billpetro.com/history-of-reek-sunday/)

Ireland: [Reek Sunday, part 2 – Pilgrimage](https://billpetro.com/history-of-reek-sunday-part-2-pilgrimage)

Ireland: [Reek Sunday, part 3 – Location](https://billpetro.com/history-of-reek-sunday-part-3-location/)

Poland: [Liberation of Auschwitz](https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-liberation-of-auschwitz-january-27-1945/)

Germany: [Holocaust Remembrance Day](https://billpetro.com/history-of-holocaust-remembrance-day/)

Germany: [Starkbier Festival](https://billpetro.com/history-of-starkbier-festival/)

 

## **Travel Articles**: