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Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish winter celebration. Each night, celebrants light a candle a special nine-branch candelabrum called a menorah: one candle is lit for each night of Hanukkah. The center, ninth candle, is called the shamash (or, helper) which is used to light the other candles. 

The holiday, which falls around the same time as Christmas and Kwanzaa, involves gift-giving and has many traditional foods, games, and activities.

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Miller Brewing Company was founded by German immigrant Frederick Miller in 1855. and celebrated its 125th birthday in 1980. Miller purchased a suburban brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1854 and began brewing and bottling the beer using new and improved technology. The brewery produced some of Milwaukee’s bestselling beers during the years following the Prohibition and World War II. In 1970, the Miller Brewing Company was purchased by the Philip Morris Company Inc. and the Miller family ownership came to an end. It 2002 it was sold again to South African Breweries and became SABMiller. In 2008, SABMiller merged with the Molson Coors Brewing Company from Canada and became MillerCoors.

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Theodore Seuss Geisel is a celebrated American poet, illustrator, and children’s books author better known under his pseudonym Dr. Seuss. Born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts, the year 2004 would have marked his 100^th birthday. In honor of Dr. Seuss’ one hundredth birthday, U.S Postal Service issued a stamp featuring Geisel. The American publishing company Random House which worked with Geisel also hosted one hundred days of events in forty U.S. cities. Numerous U.S. libraries also celebrated with theatrical performances and special Dr. Seuss birthday parties to celebrate the author.

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Gunther Gebel-Williams was a famous circus performer and animal trainer, known for his work with big cats (primarily tigers) and elephants. After 11,697 performances with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth, Gebel-Williams went on a widely publicized Farewell Tour in 1989-1990, after deciding to retire from circus performing due to health issues.

Gunther Gebel-Williams has been called, “The most celebrated circus performer of his generation”. He first began working in circuses at the age of 13, when his mother took a job as a seamstress at a German circus called Circus Williams, after World War II. Gebel-Williams worked for Circus Williams for the next two decades. In 1968, Gebel-Williams agreed to bring his large animal act to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the United States, where he became a true show business super-star. Gunther Gebel-Williams was well-known during his circus career for his talent and charisma in the ring. He appeared on numerous television shows and specials. After retiring from performing, Gebel-Williams continued to work for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey as Vice President of Animal Care. He died from a brain tumor in 2001.

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The Grover King Post 1115 VFW annual Labor Day Show is known as the location “where collectors collect” as it is a gunshow and also a fleamarket where one can buy antiques, coins, comics, clothes, toys, jewelry, collectables, crafts, and more. There are also food vendors and live music. Grover King Post 1115 is located in Hillsville, Virginia, and the Labor Day Show started in 1967 to raise funds after the first Post Home was destroyed in an accident. The festival celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017. This event is all weekend from Friday through Monday, with some setting up shop inside the FVW and others in one of the parking lots. The whole town of Hillsville also participates with yard sales outside of the space throughout town. This is a large event and drew over 500,000 visitors on Labor Day weekend 2019.

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Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated in the U.S. every year on February 2nd where if a groundhog comes out and sees his shadow, it means there will be six more weeks of winter. It is also the title of a film from the 1990s starring Bill Murray which was mostly filmed in Woodstock, Illinois. Since the release of the movie, the town of Woodstock created a "Groundhog Days" committee to organize events each year to get tourists to return for Groundhog Day. These events have included woodcarving, an art contest, a dinner and dance, and free showings of the film, Groundhog Day.

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Great River Days Inc. is a non-profit run by volunteers which has been responsible for the Great River Days Festival in Muscatine, Iowa every summer for almost 60 years. At one point in its history a Great River Days pinback button served as the ticket into the event. In later years, the buttons became souvenirs instead of proof of payment to attend the festival. In 2017, It was announced that the festival would be discontinued due to cost and safety issues on the riverfront. 

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Davenport, California is situated on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and is famous for picturesque cliffs and bluffs.  Davenport is named for a whaling captain named John Pope Davenport and is home to Davenport Beach, American Abalone (a producer of California Red Abalone), and Davenport Jail which today serves as a local museum.  

Due to Davenport’s cliffs and bluffs, whales can be seen during their annual migration from Baja, Mexico to southeast Alaska. Female gray whales give birth in the south during the winter and make their way north along the coast with their offspring. These whales stick close to land to avoid predators and are easy to spot along this migration route.  Gray whales are protected by the International Whaling Commission and only a small number of these whales can be hunted each year.

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From June 22-24, 1926 a delegation of nearly 250 members of Sunday schools in the Illinois area convened for the 76th annual Illinois State Sunday School convention in Granite City, Illinois. The convention an others like it were being held in response to an increase in Sunday school programs in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries which created a growing need for properly trained Sunday school teachers. The conventions were held as a way to attract and train teachers, as well as develop age-appropriate curriculum for students. Key issues that teachers and churches might be faced with were also addressed at these meetings.