Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Memorial Day, holiday in the United States observed in late May. Previously designated Decoration Day, it was inaugurated in 1868 by Gen. John A. Logan for the purpose of decorating the graves of Civi...

(Encyclopedia) Thanksgiving Day, national holiday in the United States commemorating the Pilgrims' celebration of the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony in 1621, after a winter of great starvation and privation. ...

(Encyclopedia) Day, Doris, 1922–2019, American film actress, b. Cincinnati as Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff. Day is best known for her wholesome, girl-next-door roles. She began her career as a 1940s band singer, and ...

(Encyclopedia) All Saints' Day, feast of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, and day on which churches glorify God for all God's saints, known and unknown. It is celebrated on Nov. 1 in the West, since Pope Gr...

(Encyclopedia) May Day, first day of May. Its celebration probably originated in the spring fertility festivals of India and Egypt. The festival of the Roman goddess of spring, Flora, was celebrated from Apr. 28 to ...

(Encyclopedia) light-year, in astronomy, unit of length equal to the distance light travels in one sidereal year. It is 9.461 × 1012 km (about 6 million million mi). Alpha Centauri and Proxima Centauri, the stars n...

(Encyclopedia) Rosh ha-Shanah hə-shäˈnə [key] [Heb.,=head of the year], the Jewish New Year, also known as the Feast of the Trumpets. It is observed on the first day of the seventh month, Tishri, occurring usual...

(Encyclopedia) Armistice Day: see Veterans' Day.

(Encyclopedia) Decoration Day: see Memorial Day. ...

(Encyclopedia) Dominion Day: see Canada Day.