Holiday History

Every year, people all around the world celebrate Father's Day. Discover the traditions and history of this unique event, celebrate Father's Day, and celebrate the amazing dads all over the world with fun themed activities you can do at home with your kids! Plus we’ve added in some extra fun stories of some of the Father's Day gifts you can make at home to surprise your wonderful dad! This audiobook is perfect for kids two to six years of age and makes the perfect Easter gift for children.

Why do people celebrate Cinco de Mayo which is Spanish for May 5th? In 1861, Napoleon III sent military ships to attack Mexico. On May 5, 1862, the French met with heavy resistance from the Mexicans. What would be the outcome?

Originally performed at the Kennedy Center for the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and later as a tribute to Walter Dean Myers, this stirring and inspirational poem is New York Times best-selling author and National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds' rallying cry to the dreamers of the world.

Whether you are currently aspiring, succeeding, or failing, ego is always lurking around. It limits your attempt to build, to maintain, or to recover. Ryan Holiday's best-selling book, Ego Is The Enemy offers practical wisdom to overcome your inner ego and find real success.

Even by the standards of the 1970s, even compared to Jar-Jar Binks, the legendary 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special is a peerlessly cringeworthy pop-culture artifact.

In the first biography of Billie Holiday in more than two decades, Paul Alexander—author of heralded lives of Sylvia Plath and J. D. Salinger—gives us an unconventional portrait of arguably America’s most eminent jazz singer. He shrewdly focuses on the last year of her life—with relevant flashbacks to provide context—to evoke and examine the persistent magnificence of Holiday’s artistry when it was supposed to have declined, in the wake of her drug abuse, relationships with violent men, and run-ins with the law.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday’s Traditions reveals the surprising, quirky, mysterious, and sometimes horrifying stories behind the most wonderful time of the year.

On Christmas Day 1914, amid the bloodily stalemated trenches of Flanders just five months into World War I, a memorable event dubbed the Christmas Truce occurred. In place of the rattle of gunfire and the crash of bursting artillery shells, familiar German and English Christmas carols floated through the frosty air. Officers and men on both sides emerged from their trenches to mingle, exchange Yuletide greetings, give one another small gifts and mementos, and discuss the fighting as language allowed.

The Pilgrims' celebration of the first Thanksgiving is a keystone of America's national and spiritual identity. But is what we've been taught about them or their harvest feast what actually happened? And if not, what difference does it make? Through the captivating story of the birth of this quintessentially American holiday, veteran historian Tracy McKenzie helps us to better understand the tale of America's origins—and for Christians, to grasp the significance of this story and those like it.

The celebrated author of Ezra Jack Keats Award winner Nell Plants a Tree and a Caldecott Honor artist come together for a poetic picture book introduction to Juneteenth and its origin.

How did things progress from that story in the Bible, with a Jewish girl giving birth to the Messiah of Israel in a manager in the city of Bethlehem, to the modern colossus that is the Christmas holiday? How did Santa Claus, the Christmas tree, the snow sleighs, the presents, and family reunions become the distinctive features of the holiday if none of them were there at the beginning? The answers can be attributed to a chain of events, characters, oral traditions, artistic works, and an assimilation of local folklore.

La Navidad es la fiesta más importante del calendario internacional. Después de los respectivos días que exaltan el orgullo nacional de los países —el Día de la Independencia en Estados Unidos, el Día de la Victoria en Rusia, el Día de la Bastilla en Francia— sin duda es el 25 de diciembre el que articula la vida familiar, el trabajo y la economía de prácticamente todo el orbe… incluyendo muchos países no cristianos.

Celebrants of the first Independence Day took little time to ponder the status of equality between the races. Primarily, their attention was taken up with the overthrow of a foreign colonial power, one not accomplished through the will of an overwhelming majority. The bold move shaped by colonial legislators and promoted to the colonies by the founding fathers represented a first-of-its kind emancipation, as no European colony had so completely faced down its mother country in a test of wills.

Listen to the sound of survival, courage, and democracy—the soundtrack of America. Hear Billie Holiday's raspy, mournful voice, and tap your foot to Louis Armstrong's trumpet. Scream with James Brown and bop your head to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Can you spot the 80+ references to artists like Robert Johnson, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix, Whitney Houston, Lauryn Hill, and Beyonce?

Young listeners will adore these two inspirational children's stories that are accompanied by original music. The History of Christmas: In this charming metaphor about the discovery of self-worth and the following of one's destiny, a grandfather tells the story of Jesus' birth and how he found his star. The Smallest Mouse in Town convinces himself that he is a giant, and in the end, he proves that the most important thing is to be who you are no matter what. After all, liking yourself is one of life's most important lessons.

This history is based on the recent coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, and an English family's frightening holiday experience during this time.

In this alternately humorous and horrifying memoir, a Jewish father shleps his reluctant children around Europe on a hard-charging tour of Holocaust sites and memorials in order to impress on them the profound evil of Hitler’s war against the Jews and the importance of combatting genocide.

The downfall of Bo Xilai in China was more than a darkly thrilling mystery. It revealed a cataclysmic internal power struggle between Communist Party factions, one that reached all the way to China’s new president Xi Jinping. The scandalous story of the corruption of the Bo Xilai family - the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood; Bo’s secret lovers; the secret maneuverings of Bo’s supporters; the hasty trial and sentencing of Gu Kailai, Bo’s wife - was just the first rumble of a seismic power struggle that continues to rock the very foundation of China’s all-powerful Communist Party.

The Thanksgiving season is celebrated by millions throughout the United States. How much do we really know about Thanksgiving Day - its history, customs, and traditions? This audiobook covers all of these things and much more! Written by Michael Freze, SFO, best-selling Catholic author of dozens of published books, this audiobook would be a great asset to anyone interested in the holiday seasons with literally hundreds of trivia facts about Thanksgiving.

The eagerly anticipated follow-up to Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World. Overflowing with wonderfully engaging facts, vibrant music and sound effects, it is a celebration of just some of the inspirational women who put their mark on the world we live in. Prepare to be inspired. List of women featured: Elizabeth Blackwell, Qiu Jin, Boudicca, Flora Drummond, Pocahontas, Noor Inayat Khan, Harriet Tubman, Valentina Tereshkova, Ada Lovelace, Sayyida al-Hurra, Hatshepsut, Josephine Baker, Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley.