It’s not time for Christmas in July yet (although stores do start earlier and earler with stocking decorations and trees every year), however Disney is gearing up for a 3D animated version of Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. Stepping up to the plate for yet another animated Christmas story is Robert Zemeckis, who also had a hand in The Polar Express as both director and screenwriter. Zemeckis is again reprising those roles, building off of Dickens’ tale of Ebeneezer Scrooge, a wealthy, yet hard-hearted man visited by the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come who urge him to change his ways.

Much like Polar Express, this upcoming holiday movie boasts an A-list cast of voices. The versatile Jim Carrey as Ebeneezer Scrooge, as well as the three Christmas ghosts. Gary Oldman provides the voice of family man and Scrooge’s long-suffering clerk, Bob Cratchet. Other noteworthy names featured in the cast include Robin Wright Penn, Bob Hoskins, and Colin Firth. Disney’s A Christmas Carol is scheduled for a November 6th, 2009 release date.

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The 4th of July or Independence Day is one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States. Almost every country in the world has an independence day. Ours happens to be on July 4th, where we can be a little wild, a little crazy, and have great fun. In 1776 our nation declared independence from Great Britain. It signaled an end to the Revolutionary War in which we were able to say that we were a country without British rule. Furthermore our founding fathers stated that we would have a democracy, one in which the people would control the nation rather than a monarch.

The revolution was won by the US, and talks resolved on July 2, 1776 through the Continental Congress that we would have total independence. It took two more days for the final approval to come through. There was a need to revise the Declaration of Independence to give it everything our leaders and people wanted. According to history the Declaration of Independence was actually signed on July 2, 1776. However, since the announcement didn’t come for two days, as well as final approval many believed that the 4th was the actual day Adams, Jefferson and others had signed the declaration.

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Memorial Day is more than just a three-day weekend, it’s a time to remember family and friends who served in wartime or peacetime in the military and are no longer with us. Many families head to local cemetaries where their loved ones are buried to decorate the graves of their loved ones with American flags, flowers, and other items as part of this rememberance. The official flower of the day is a red poppy, the story of which is outlined in John McCrae’s 1915 poem, “In Flanders Fields” where servicemen were buried in graves marked by the red flowers.

Although the intent behind Memorial Day is a somewhat somber one, it does offer a three-day weekend to most people. Even families who do visit interred loved ones come back to their homes and cook out on the grill, celebrating an extended weekend with their living loved ones. Other more fun aspects of Memorial Day include local parades in which members — past and present — of the military march in their dress uniforms alongside patriotic floats and fireworks displays.

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Cinco de Mayo may be tomorrow, but today is Star Wars Day! Bust out those lightsabers, kiddies and marathon your favorite trilogy in a celebration that would make the Rebel’s victory party on Endor pale in comparison!

Designated as Star Wars Day thanks to a play on the words of the popular Jedi greeting, “May the Force be with you,” May the Fourth honors all things Star Wars and Force-related.

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Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexico’s independence, marked by General Ignacio Zaragoza defeating the French at Puebla in 1862. After having already shrugged off European rule by the Spanish, Mexico wasn’t having any more of a European foothold in their land. Cinco de Mayo celebrates the nation’s resolve towards independence.

In Mexico and other areas of he world (particularly the United States), people of Mexican heritage celebrate the day with dance and song, with ballet folklorico dancers performing to Mariachi music. It’s a day for them to showcase their ethnic pride and celebrate their homeland’s history and triumphs.

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Today, we’re only 14 days away from Easter, one of my favorite Holidays of the year. I love it so much because of all the great memories of egg hunting in the backyard when i was a kid. One thing we never did was dressing up and I have to admit, I wish we did. The thing is, costumes were not as popular decades ago as they are nowadays, but today, if you are a parent or a child, there is a Easter costume for you!

Here at CostumZee, our goal is to help anyone finding the right costume they are looking for. So for Easter, check out this essential Easter costume guide that will help you either make your own or buy an Easter bunny costume:
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Beginning March 9th this year at sundown and continuing until the end of the following day, Purim falls on a different day every year. A holy day on the Jewish calendar, Purim celebrates Queen Esther’s brave role in saving her people from genocide at the hands of the Babylonians.

The story of Purim dates back to the 6th century, B.C. during the 70-year period that the Jews were held in captivity by the Babylonians. The Babylonian king Ahasuerus publicly divorces his wife when she refuses to parade herself to the guests at his party. In a very ancient form of choosing a wife pretty similar to The Bachelor or even Flavor of Love, the king demands that all the young women of his land be presented to him to choose a new wife. One of these girls is a young woman named Haddassah who changes her name to Esther so as to not make her Jewish heritage obvious. Attracted to her beauty and spirit, King Ahasuerus marries her. Sweetening the deal is that Esther’s cousin who raised her, Mordechai, foiled an assassination plot on the king however Haman, the King’s vizier passes the deed off as his own.

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Ah, there’s nothing like drinking green beer in mass quantities to celebrate the Patron Saint of Ireland! March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day, commemorating the saint who used the three-leaf shamrock to illustrate the basic tennants of Christianity to spread it to the people of the Emerald Isles.

St. Patrick’s Day may be on March 17th, but chances are, the neighborhood pub crawls, Shamrock Shuttles, and Erin Expresses are running through your area at least a week ahead of the actual date of St. Patty’s Day. That means TWO full weekends of drinking and celebrating your Irish heritage. (Even if you’re not Irish, everyone is just for the day!)

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With the cold weather sticking around for at least six more weeks (Thanks for nothing, Punxsutawney Phil!), federal holidays and days off are a ray of sunlight dropped into a dreary winter. If you’re fortunate to have the day off, February 24th is President’s Day. Originally intended to celebrate First President George Washington’s birthday with Abraham Lincoln (a fellow Commander-in-Chief with a February birthdate), President’s Day honors all of the 44 men to serve in the nation’s highest office. Celebrate the day in style with a “Presidential Party” to kick off a three-day weekend.

With a new President in office and Inauguration Day recently past, it’s a perfect opportunity to turn President’s Day 2009 into more of an event than usual! Prepare some bi-partisan palatte pleasers like “Red White and Bleu Cheese” Red Delicious apples sliced and smeared with bleu cheese or “Congressional Corn Chilli” for guests to snack on. Dress up as your favorite presidents — past or present! Dress up as George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, two of history’s most notable and noble figures. Top notch vinyl masks are also available of recent presidents like the outgoing George Bush and new President, Barack Obama.

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Mardi Gras is just around the corner! The festivities are already underway in New Orleans, having begun on 12th Night (12 days after Christmas on January 6th) and culminating on Fat Tuesday, the day right before Ash Wednesday kicks off the penitant season of Lent before Easter. This year, Fat Tuesday falls on February 24th, 2009.

A highly symbolic affair, Mardi Gras is the ultimate festival of indulgence with good food and elaborate costumes and floats before the solemn season of Lent rears its head. The parade floats and costumes are done up in traditional Mardi Gras colors of green, gold, and purple which represent the virtues of faith, power, and justice, respectively. Beads are thrown at revelers, sometimes with just innocent intents and others, to encourage their recipients to flash the goods!

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