Holidays Vocabulary: Practice Questions & Explanations

INDEPENDENCE DAY is on the USCIS HOLIDAYS vocabulary list. It is celebrated on JULY 4 (the 4th of July) each year and commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Other holidays on the USCIS reading vocabulary list: PRESIDENTS' DAY (third Monday in February, honors George Washington and other presidents); MEMORIAL DAY (last Monday in May, honors those who died in military service); FLAG DAY (June 14, commemorates adoption of the American flag in 1777); LABOR DAY (first Monday in September, honors workers); COLUMBUS DAY (second Monday in October, commemorates Columbus' 1492 voyage); THANKSGIVING (fourth Thursday in November, traditional harvest celebration). Common reading test sentences: 'Independence Day is in July.' 'Memorial Day is in May.' 'Labor Day is in September.' 'We celebrate Thanksgiving in November.' 'Columbus Day is in October.' Notice the pattern: many sentences pair a holiday name with the month it's celebrated. Studying the months alongside the holiday names is helpful preparation. Reading test sentences are short (5-12 words typically) and use common sentence structures.

MEMORIAL DAY is a federal holiday on the USCIS HOLIDAYS VOCABULARY list. It is observed on the LAST MONDAY IN MAY. The holiday honors U.S. military personnel who died in service to the country. Sample reading test sentences: 'Memorial Day is in May.' 'We honor soldiers on Memorial Day.' 'Memorial Day is in the spring.' The holiday originated after the Civil War as 'Decoration Day' — when Americans decorated the graves of soldiers who died in that war. Over time, it expanded to honor all Americans who died in any war. In 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act made it a federal holiday on the last Monday in May. Common observances: ceremonies at military cemeteries; placing flags on veterans' graves; the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C.; moments of silence; family barbecues marking the unofficial start of summer. Memorial Day is DIFFERENT from VETERANS DAY (November 11), which honors ALL who have served (living and dead). It's also different from Armed Forces Day (May, honoring those currently serving). MAJOR FEDERAL HOLIDAYS in the U.S. are typically held on Mondays (creating long weekends) — Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day.

THANKSGIVING is on the USCIS HOLIDAYS VOCABULARY list. It is celebrated on the FOURTH THURSDAY OF NOVEMBER each year — a major American federal holiday focused on GRATITUDE, FAMILY, and the harvest. Origins: traditionally traced to a 1621 feast shared by the Pilgrims (English colonists at Plymouth) and the Wampanoag Native Americans after the colonists' first successful harvest in the New World. President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving Day in 1863 during the Civil War. In 1941, Congress made it a federal holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. Sample reading test sentences: 'Thanksgiving is in November.' 'We have Thanksgiving Day.' 'Thanksgiving is a holiday.' Typical Thanksgiving traditions: FAMILY GATHERING and meal; TURKEY (centerpiece of the meal — Thanksgiving is sometimes called 'Turkey Day'); stuffing/dressing; cranberry sauce; sweet potatoes; pumpkin pie; mashed potatoes; gravy; green bean casserole. PARADES (Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, televised nationally); FOOTBALL games; the President officially 'pardons' a turkey at the White House (since the 1980s as formal tradition); volunteering at soup kitchens and food banks. The day after Thanksgiving is BLACK FRIDAY, the traditional start of Christmas shopping season — one of the busiest shopping days. Many Americans travel home for Thanksgiving, making it one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

LABOR DAY is on the USCIS HOLIDAYS VOCABULARY list. It is observed on the FIRST MONDAY IN SEPTEMBER. Labor Day honors the contributions of workers to the prosperity of the United States. Common reading test sentences: 'Labor Day is in September.' 'We celebrate Labor Day in September.' 'Labor Day is a holiday.' Other holidays on the USCIS reading vocabulary list by month: February — Presidents Day; May — Memorial Day; June — Flag Day; July — Independence Day; September — Labor Day; October — Columbus Day; November — Thanksgiving. Practice matching each holiday to its month. The words LABOR and DAY both appear on the reading vocabulary. Labor Day originated in the late 1800s during the labor movement, when workers were advocating for better wages, reasonable hours, and safe working conditions.

PRESIDENTS' DAY is on the USCIS reading vocabulary list under HOLIDAYS. In a sentence such as 'Presidents' Day is in February,' it refers to the federal holiday observed in February that honors U.S. presidents (historically associated with George Washington's birthday). The reading test includes holiday vocabulary like Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Thanksgiving. Recognizing these holiday names and roughly when they occur, in the context of a sentence, is part of the holidays-vocabulary portion of the reading test.

INDEPENDENCE DAY is on the USCIS reading vocabulary list under HOLIDAYS. In a sentence such as 'Independence Day is in July,' it refers to the federal holiday on July 4 that celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The reading test pairs holiday vocabulary with months and simple verbs to form readable sentences. Recognizing 'Independence Day' as the July 4 holiday — and connecting holidays to their months — is part of the holidays-vocabulary content the reading test measures.