Guam : public and bank holidays, closure of banks, stock exchanges, school vacations

Sports events :

Secular holiday : Commemorates the formal adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Fourth is traditionally celebrated publicly with parades and pageants, patriotic speeches, and organized firing of guns and cannons and displays of fireworks.

Banks only : Liberation from the Japanese in 1944 by the US Armed Forces

School holidays :

Secular holiday : Celebrated on the first Monday in September with parades. For most Americans, it marks the end of summer holidays, and for many students the beginning of the classes.

Culture :

Catholic or protestant : This is an ancient festivity that has been much transformed through the years,but which was intended in prehispanic Mexico to celebrate children and the dead. This holiday is a time when Mexican families remember their dead and the continuity of life. The original celebration can be traced to the Aztec civilization, in the month of Miccailhuitontli, presided by the Lady of the Dead , goddess Mictecacihuatl and dedicated to children and the dead. This celebration is also observed in other countries in Latin América. Families visit the graves and engage in sprucing up the gravesite, decorating it with flowers, setting out and eating a festive picnic.

Special Events :

Banks only : Formerly Armistice Day, is a holiday observed in honour of all those, living and dead, who served with U.S. armed forces in wartime. Armistice Day, the forerunner of Veterans Day, was proclaimed to commemorate the termination of World War I Some banks, post office and governement close, but businesses, more and more, remain open, as well as universities.

Secular holiday : Many Americans take the following day off and enjoy a four-day holiday. The first formal celebration was held by an English explorer, Martin Frobisher, who attempted to establish a settlement on Baffin Island, after failing to discover a northern passage to the Orient in 1576. The Pilgrims of Plymouth Rock held their Thanksgiving in 1621 as a three-day thank you celebration to the leaders of the Wampanoag Indian tribe and their families for teaching them the survival skills they needed to make it in the New World. The turkey tradition was introduced by Benjamin Franklin who made it a national symbol: quick runner, wary, sharp eyesight... The one-time holiday was declared by George Washington, whereas Abraham Lincoln elected the 4th Thursday in November.

Secular holiday : Also known as Santa Marian Kamalen, the patron saint of Guam. Oral tradition relates that Santa Marian Kamalen floated into the shores escorted by two crabs with lit votive candles on their backs centuries ago.

School holidays :

Catholic or protestant : Since pre-historic times in Europe, festivities (bonfires, offrerings) were marking the beginning of longer hours of daylight with fires and ritual. The Roman festival of Saturnalia lasted several days in December (gambling and offerings). Germanic tribes also celebrated mid-winter (drinking and rituals). The Bulgarian (with Koleduvane) and the Polish (with Gwiazdka) perpetuate this tradition. Jesus of Nazareth was probably born in springtime (Reformists favour autumn). But in the 4th century, December 25th was chosen for the celebration of his birth by Pope Julius I (Bishop Liberus is also mentioned in 354 A.D.). Thus, a Christian element was introduced in the long-established mid-winter festivals. Before 1582, the Papal States and other Italian city states celebrated New Year’s Day on Christmas Day

Secular holiday :

Banks only :