First Sunday of Advent
2024-12-01
The Advent season marks the beginning of the Christian year across many western churches in the United States. Its length varies from 22 to 28 days, starting on the Sunday nearest St Andrew’s Day and encompassing the next three Sundays, ending on Christmas Day.
Is First Sunday of Advent a Public Holiday?
First Sunday of Advent is not a public holiday. It falls on Sunday, December 1, 2024 and most businesses follow regular Sunday opening hours in United States.
What Do People Do?
Many Christians in the United States attend a church service on the first Sunday of Advent and may engage in activities such as special prayers and contributing to ideas on enhancing peace. Many Advent traditions are observed in the United States in the prelude to Christmas Day. For example, the Advent wreath is becoming increasingly popular in the United States. The wreath can be seen in various churches across the nation around this time of the year.
Advent calendars of all designs are also given as gifts at this time of the year. The calendars feature openings in the form of windows or doors that are numbered to count the days to Christmas. Calendars may contain chocolates, toys, or candy and are given to children as a fun way to observe the Christmas countdown. Some traditional Advent calendars show 24 days but many Advent calendars showing 25 days, with the last opening on Christmas Day.
The church year begins in September 1 in many eastern Christian churches, so Advent begins at a different time to when it starts in the western churches. The eastern equivalent of Advent is called the Nativity Fast, which runs for 40 days.
Public Life
The first Sunday of Advent is not a nationwide public holiday in the United States. However, churches may be busy on this day, as well as families who use the beginning of Advent as a time to prepare for the Christmas season.
Background
It is uncertain as to when exactly the celebration of Advent was first introduced in the Christian church. Some sources say that Advent began on November 11 (St Martin’s Day) at some time in the fifth century in the form of a six-week fast leading to Christmas. Advent was reduced to its current length at some stage in the sixth century and the fasting was later no longer observed. Advent is originally a time to reflect and prepare for Christmas similarly to how Lent is in preparation for Easter. Advent has sometimes been referred to as the Winter Lent. In recent times the restrictions that Advent brings to Christians have become more relaxed.
Advent traditions spread from Europe to the United States, especially the Advent calendar, which became very popular in the United States after World War II as American military personnel and their families who were stationed in Germany brought them home and made them a part of the pre-Christmas traditions. Some people credit President Dwight Eisenhower with helping the tradition of the Advent calendar spread in the United States during the 1950s.
Symbols
Purple is historically the main color used for Advent because it reflects penitence, fasting, and the color of royalty to welcome the Advent of the king (Jesus Christ). The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his first Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his second Advent. Some churches use other colors in recent times. For example, some churches mark the third Sunday of Advent with pink or rose, colors that represent joy. Many Protestant churches use blue to distinguish the Season of Advent from Lent.
Advent wreaths are symbolic of Advent. They are usually made of fir and decorated with gold and silver ribbons or scarlet woolen threads. Lit wreaths may be displayed on the table where family and friends sit while singing carols and preparing handmade gifts.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception
2024-12-09
Many Christians, particularly those of Catholic faith, in the United States observe the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on or around December 8.
Is Feast of the Immaculate Conception a Public Holiday?
Feast of the Immaculate Conception is not a public holiday. Businesses have normal opening hours.
What Do People Do?
Many churches, especially the Catholic Church, in the United States hold special services (or masses) to commemorate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on or close to December 8. The feast focuses on the concept that the Virgin Mary was conceived without sin. Many churches that observe the Feast of the Immaculate Conception are busy preparing for it prior to its occurrence.
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a legal holiday in Guam, known as Our Lady of Camarin Day, commemorating a small wooden statue known as Our Lady of Camarin (Santa Marian Kamalen). The statue is found in the Agana Cathedral Basilica. It has been tradition since the early 1900s for the statue to be taken down, groomed and placed on a cart, which is then pulled into Hagåtña, Guam’s capital. This statue leads a procession, in which people pray in various languages to honor Jesus through his mother Mary.
Public Life
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a public holiday in Guam, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States. However, this event is not a nationwide public holiday in the United States.
Background
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception centers on the belief that Jesus’ mother, the Virgin Mary, was conceived without sin. Pope Pius IX issued an apostolic constitution, known as the Ineffabilis Deus, on December 8, 1854. This document clarified the importance of the Immaculate Conception in the Catholic Church. This day is a public holiday in Guam. A law in Guam attempted to eliminate this holiday for locals in 2002 but this attempt did not succeed due to public pressure. Typhoon Pongsona struck Guam on the feast day on December 8 that year.
Symbols
Various paintings, statues and other forms of artwork have been made depicting the Immaculate Conception. They usually show Mary as a young woman dressed in white and blue. She is often standing on a hill or raised area and has a halo of stars around her head. The pieces of art may also include images of clouds, golden lights, cherubs, lilies or roses.
One well-known example associated with the Immaculate Conception is a statue known as Our Lady of Camarin (Santa Marian Kamalen), which was found on the shores of Merizo in Guam more than 300 years ago. The statue’s hands and face are made of ivory and the jewel-studded crown sits atop a cap of natural hair. It has survived earthquakes, fires, typhoons and World War II. The statue was stolen in 1968, 1971, and 1992 but was successfully retrieved.

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
2024-12-12
The Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe is becoming an increasingly popular Catholic feast in some American communities on December 12. It is dedicated to Jesus’ mother Mary.
Is Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe a Public Holiday?
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is not a public holiday. Businesses have normal opening hours.
Celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe Day
The popularity of this religious feast has grown particularly along the south-west of the US, including cities such as Los Angeles. It serves as a tribute to Jesus’ mother Mary and is particularly celebrated by Americans of Mexican descent.
Public Life
Our Lady of Guadalupe Day is a religious observance, not a public holiday in the US.
About Our Lady of Guadalupe Day
The day is particularly special for Americans of Mexican heritage, as it honors the belief that Jesus’ mother Mary, who is Mexico’s patron saint, appeared to a man in Mexico City twice in 1531. Mexican Americans make up over 10% of the US population, with about 33.5 million Americans being listed as being of full or partial Mexican ancestry, according to the US Census Bureau 2011.
