Halloween is celebrated on 31 October. It is thought to be connected with the ancient Druids, who believed that on that evening Saman, the lord of the dead, called forth hosts of
evil spirits (Encarta 96). Many people don't think about the origin. There is really no significance for most people in the US associated with Halloween, other than it is fun to dress in costumes, go to parties, play spooky music, and collect candies. In the United States you will find many children dressed in costumes on Halloween. They walk from door to door collecting
candies. The chant "trick or treat" is heard throughout the neighbourhood.
The flag of the United States of America consists of
13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom)
alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the
canton bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars
arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top
and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars. The
creator of the U.S. Flag is popularly considered to be
Betsy Ross. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50
U.S. states and the 13 stripes represent the original
Thirteen Colonies that rebelled against the British crown
and became the first states in the Union. Nicknames for
the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, and the
Star-Spangled Banner (also the name of the country's
official national anthem). The 13-star version was
adopted on June 14th, 1777, and the 50-star version on
July 4th, 1960. On August 3rd, 1949 President Truman
signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each
year as National Flag Day.
The Great Seal of the United States is used to
authenticate certain documents issued by the United
States government. The phrase is used both for the
physical seal itself (which is kept by the U.S. Secretary
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of State), and more generally for the design impressed
upon it. The Great Seal was publicly first used in 1782.
The design on the obverse of the great seal is the
national coat of arms of the United States and is
officially used on documents such as passports as well
as for military insignia, embassy placards, and various
flags. As a coat of arms, the design has official colors;
the physical Great Seal itself, as affixed to paper, is
monochrome. Since 1935, both sides of the Great Seal appear on the reverse of the One-Dollar Bill of the United States.
"The Star Spangled Banner" is the national anthem
of the United States. The lyrics come from a poem
written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, a 35-year-old
amateur poet who wrote "Defence of Fort McHenry"
after seeing the bombardment of Fort McHenry at
Baltimore, Maryland by British ships in Chesapeake Bay
during the War of 1812.
The poem was set to the tune of a popular British
drinking song, written by John Stafford Smith for the
Anacreontic Society, a London social club. "The
Anacreontic Song" (or "To Anacreon in Heaven") was
already popular in the United States and set to various
lyrics. Set to Key's poem and renamed, "The Star
Spangled Banner" would soon become a well-known
American patriotic song. With a range of one and a half
octaves, it is known for being difficult to sing. Although
the song has four stanzas, only the first is commonly
sung today, with the fourth ("O thus be it ever when
free men shall stand...") added on more formal
occasions.
"The Star Spangled Banner" was recognized for official
use by the Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and
was made the national anthem by a congressional
resolution on March 3,1931, which was signed by
President Herbert Hoover.
By Flavius
Special thanks to Violeta de Parma