San Antonio College Library

"Between the close of the Civil War and the end of World War I, Americans invented more than twenty-five holidays. Investigating a wide array of secular holidays, Ellen M. Litwicki argues that their invention and celebration provided various American groups with the opportunity to recast the story of the United States with themselves in the pivotal roles. She shows how competing commemorations reflected both the diversity of the nation's populace...

The Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, Labor Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, and other celebrations matter to Americans and reflect the state of American, local and national politics. The author explores this vast political and cultural terrain, charting how Americans have defined their identities through celebration.