This is about U.S. holidays. Customs vary from country to country. For example, some countries celebrate Earth Day in March and Labor Day in May. For something to celebrate every day of the year see Holidays and Special Days.

Holidays of the Heart

The holiest of all holidays are those
Kept by ourselves in silence and apart,
The secret anniversaries of the heart . . .
(Henry Wadesworth Longfellow)

Love in All Seasons Holiday Album

(Melanie E.)

First page: LOVE IN ALL SEASONS, I didn't try to line up the letters on any page. Scatter small stickers to represent different seasons/holidays.
First double page spread: HAPPY (upper left corner) NEW YEAR (lower right corner) Stickers in the opposite corners. I used the party hats w/ confetti dots and used the same colors in the letters
2nd double page spread: BE MY (upper left) VALENTINE (lower right) all in red. Cinnamon hearts in the opposite corners
3rd: EASTER (up left) TIME (low right) in lilac and the darker of the pinks in the letters (don't remember the correct name). Easter eggs in the corners.
4th: MOTHER'S (up left) DAY (low right) in light pink and light blue. Flowers and hearts in the corners.
5th: FATHER'S (up left) DAY (low right) in primary colors. The stars with words on them (Excellent, Super, etc.) in the corners.
6th: 4TH OF (up left) JULY (low right) in red and blue. Blue and red balloons and stars in the corners.
7th: HAPPY (up left) HALLOWEEN (low right) in yellow and orange. Various Halloween stickers in corners.
8th: WE GIVE (up left) THANKS (low right) all in brown. Corn, leaves, pumpkins in corners.
9th: MERRY (up left) CHRISTMAS (low right) in red and green. Presents/Candy canes and the silver jingle bell in the corners.
What you put on the last page will vary depending on how you decide to use the album. It could be a mini-family album for one year of holidays; favorite pictures from all through the years that bring back the best memory of that particular holiday; or a child album, showing what just that child has done on those holidays during the year. So I'm not sure what to put on that last single page.

Greeting Card in an Album

Take an 8x10 album page and run a strip of photo tape down the left side next to the jeeping. Cut a sheet of white (or pastel) acid free paper the size of the page between the jeeping. Attach the paper to the photo tape. Using a straight edge, fold the paper back about 1/4 inch from the taped edge. Decorate the front with die-cuts, photos, stickers, etc. We used a camera die-cut, and ABC stickers to spell out Get Well Soon. We also decorated with flower stickers on front. Inside we used a basket die-cut and filled it with ivy and rose stickers. We wrote: This basket full of good wishes comes to you from all of us. We missed you today. Hurry and get well so you can crop with us again soon. Everyone signed it.

This idea would be great for cards for Grandma and Grandpa or any scrapbooker. By using the 8x10 size if will also fit in the 12x12 album. Photos could be mounted on the back. A page protector could be used if you cut off a narrow strip to allow for the paper that is taped down. This would allow the front of the card to be opened.

You could put the front of the card in an 8/10 photo sleeve and attach it to the jeeping of the page using a hinge (see flip pages in General Layout Ideas). Or have the paper extend past the left side of the sleeve about 1/4" and attach it to the jeeping with photo tape. Either way you could use a page protector without having to trim it.

Note: Song lists about holiday and occasions are at the bottom of the page.

Groundhog Day

If Candlemas Day is bright and clear,
there'll be two winters in the year. (Scottish couplet)

Groundhog Day

February second is Groundhog Day.
Will he see his shadow? What will he say?
If he says, "More cold," if he says, "More snow"
Then back into his hole he will surely go.

Candlemas

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.

The Groundhog

In a snug little burrow
Deep down underground
Sleeps a fat little groundhog
All safe and sound.
Be careful not to wake him
From his sleep so deep
For he's a grumpy little fellow
If he doesn't get his sleep.
On February second
He yawns and he stretches
And climbs out of his hole
To check on the weather.
If he sees his shadow
He turns right around
To spend six more weeks sleeping
Until spring comes around.

The Second of February

There's only one day the whole long year,
That I hope and pray the sun won't appear.
The second of February, you all know,
The groundhog goes searching for his shadow.
If he should find it, the story is told,
We'll have six more weeks of winter's cold.
But if it is cloudy, his shadow's not there,
There'll soon be warm weather
and days will be fair.
So please, Mr. Sun, for just this one day.
Find a big dark cloud--and stay away!

More information about Candlemas and Groundhog Day

Songs about Groundhogs

• Groundhog - The Stonemans (1964)
• Groundhog Blues - The Groundhogs (1987)
• Groundhog Day - Jim DeSalvo (2004)
• How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck? - Danny Adlerman (2001)
• Original Groundhog Day, The - Kathryn Rose (2003)

Columbus Day

Quotes About Columbus and Columbus Day

• By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination. (Christopher Columbus)
• Columbus had all the spirit of a crusader, and, at the same time, the investigating nature of a modern man of science. (Edmund Arthur Helps)
• Every one of us has in him a continent of undiscovered character. Blessed is he who acts the Columbus to his own soul.
• Every ship that comes to America got its chart from Columbus. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
• Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World. (Christopher Columbus)
• Great scientific discoveries have been made by men seeking to verify quite erroneous theories about the nature of things. (Aldous Huxley)
• He stands in history as the completer of the globe. (John Sterling)
• He stands out among the beacon lights of history as a man of vision dominated by a definite purpose. (John George Jones)
• I also hate those holidays that fall on a Monday where you don't get mail, those fake holidays like Columbus Day. What did Christopher Columbus do, discover America? If he hadn't, somebody else would have and we'd still be here. Big deal. (John Waters)
• If Columbus had an advisory committee he would probably still be at the dock. (Arthur Goldberg)
• Illegal aliens have always been a problem in the United States. Ask any Indian. (Robert Orben)
• In all parts of the Old World, as well as of the New, it was evident that Columbus had kindled a fire in every mariner's heart. That fire was the harbinger of a new era, for it was not to be extinguished. (Charles Kendall Adams)
• Mistakes are the portals of discovery. (James Joyce)
• One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. (André Gide)
• Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered. I myself would say that it had merely been detected. (Oscar Wilde)
• The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. (Marcel Proust)
• When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before the white man came, an Indian said simply, "Ours". (Vine Deloria, Jr.)

Songs about Columbus Day

• Christopher Columbus - Ernie Fields Orchestra (1959)
• Columbus Day - Alice Despard (2006)
• Columbus Day Weekend - John S. Hall and Kramer (1990)
• Happy Columbus Day - The Spoiled Chefs (2005)
• Like Columbus Did - Reflections (1964)

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is observed on December 26 each year in the UK, Canada, and parts of the US (including Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina and West Virginia). The way boxing day is celebrated has changed over the years but now many people celebrate it by boxing up items they no longer use and donating them to charity.
There are several songs titled "Boxing Day" - one is by Roy Bailey and was released in 1991.
See The History of Boxing Day.

Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966. It was designed to give African American community the opportunity to celebrate their heritage and reinforce community values. It was named for the Swahili word 'kwanza' which means first fruits. The extra 'a' was added to signify America. It is based on the tradition of agricultural ancestors who got together to celebrate the harvest. The modern celebration is based on seven principals about dealing with others, rebuilding lives and creating a more positive image.

• Umoja (Unity) - to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, and nation.
• Kujichagulia (Self Determination) - to define, name and create ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
• Ujima (Collective Work And Responsibility) - to build and maintain our community together and work with others to solve problems.
• Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) - to build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses together.
• Nia (Purpose) - to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community.
• Kuumba (Creativity) - to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it.
• Imani (Faith) --To believe in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the virtue and victory of our struggle.

There is a great site about Ethnic Scrapbooking that has ideas for Kwanzaa pages and other things as well.

Songs about Kwanzaa

• 7 Days of Kwanzaa - Urban Village (2010)
• Happy Happy Kwanzaa - Bunny Hull (1999)
• It's Kwanzaa Time - Arthur and Friends (2000)

Songs about Holidays

• Every Day's a Holiday - Delaney Bramlett (1977)
• Hawaii Holiday - Andrew Hardin (2002)
• Holiday - Green Day (2005)
• Holiday for Bells - Bert Kaempfert (1963)
• Holiday for Love - Webb Pierce (1957)
• Holiday for Strings - David Rose Orchestra (1943)
• Holiday in Rhode Island - The Softies (2000)
• It's the Holidays - Wynn Varble (2008)
• Lover's Holiday - JoJo Benson and Peggy Scott (1968)
• National Working Woman's Holiday - Sammy Kershaw (1994)
• Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart - LeAnn Rimes (2003)
• Rock and Roll Holiday - Brownsville Station (1969)
• Unhappy Holidays - The Mabels (2002)
• Victim of a Holiday Weekend - Ott Stephens (1960)

Songs about Occasions

• Auspicious Occasion - The Rivals (2007)
• Every Day is a Special Occasion - Willie Jolley (2007)
• Grand Occasion, A - Metro Central (2009)
• Happy Occasion, A - Paul Horn (2001)
• No Occasion - J. Tillman (2009)
• Occasion - The Isaacs (1994)
• Occasion to Reminisce - Robert Farnon (2004)
• On More Than One Occasion - Charlie Burton (1997)
• Rise to the Occasion - Kurt Nilsen (2008)
• Sense of Occasion, A - John Butcher (1991)
• Special Occasion - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (1968)
• Sweet Occasion - Night and Day (2008)