28 Aug 9 Events That Americans Made Famous World-Wide
America is a relatively young country compared to many others. However, they have managed to build an empire bigger than most in such a short amount of time. It is now known as one of the most advanced countries in the world for many things.
One of these things is definitely entertainment. If Americans are good at something, that would definitely be their art of making spectacles for the whole world to see. They like flashiness, crowdedness, publicity, and recognition.
They have taken many regular holidays and events, and turned them into money-making machines, which have been spread all around the world ever since.
So, here are some of the most famous and massively celebrated events that Americans made highly popular.
1. Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a holiday which is not only celebrated in America, but in some other countries as well. However, Americans managed to increase its popularity and basically make it their own. When you hear the word ‘’Thanksgiving’’, the first associations that come to our minds are turkey and the USA.
Thanksgiving is a holiday which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It is celebrated “as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God”.
It’s a traditional day for families and friends to gather around for a special meal. The staples of every Thanksgiving dinner are stuffed turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, and pumpkin pie. There are also Thanksgiving parades organized in some of the cities, which are huge and include thousands of people.
Although this is their national holiday, basically every person of this planet has heard of it, and it’s familiar with its origins and form of celebration.
2. Halloween
Halloween is an American version of “el Dios de los Muertos”. It is celebrated on October 31st every year, and it’s famous for scary things.
People dress up in scary costumes, hundreds of dollars are spent on exterior and interior decorations, and everyone gives out candy. It’s customary to carve out pumpkins and make different motives and scary faces.
Dressed up children go from house to house to “trick or treat”, in order to get free candy from the residents. In case someone doesn’t offer them candy, they are threatened to do some harm to their house, such as covering it in toilet paper or throwing eggs.
Big parties are organized, people wander through graveyards, and recently, haunted houses have been highly popularized. Although this was originally celebrated in America, a lot of foreign countries have adopted this holiday, and it’s now being celebrated world-wide.
3. Academy Awards
This is one of the most viewed and followed events in American history. The Academy Awards are an event where the best film creators, directors, actors, actresses, etc. compete for a prestigious prize.
The prize comes in the shape of a golden statue and it represents ultimate recognition in the film industry. The ceremony was first broadcast in the 1930’s and it has become one of the main symbols of Hollywood ever since.
Nowadays, it’s been broadcast worldwide, with millions of people watching every year. It is not only about the movies, though. It has become a cultural imprint where all the biggest celebrities gather around, wearing expensive outfits and overly-priced jewelry, to flaunt their wealth and status.
This is a perfect example of how a regular awards ceremony can be turned into an entirely new industry.
4. Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL). It is basically an unofficial American holiday, where thousands of people attend the games, and millions watch it sacredly.
The day when The Super Bowl is played, ‘’The Super Bowl Sunday’’, is the second-largest day of the year for US food consumption. Crackers, hotdogs, fries, and fast food in general are flying around like crazy.
In the beginning, it was a luxury to be able to attend and see the games in person. Nowadays, thanks to the rise of the internet and the appearance of cheap NFL tickets, people from all around the world can come to see this spectacle live event.
It’s another regular championship turned into a million-dollar industry, thanks to the American art of publicity.
5. Black Friday
The day after Thanksgiving is also known as “Black Friday”. It’s an unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. They have managed to turn a Friday into a complete shopping-frenzy.
Almost all stores come out with special offers and ridiculous discounts in order to attract as many customers as possible. It’s called “Black Friday”, because it’s the day then all the stores earn their highest annual profits. The reason for the word “black” in the name is because stores record their losses in red ink and profits in black.
Although this trend started in America, it has spread all around the world. Many countries have their own versions of this day now, such as “Premium Friday” in Japan. When Black Friday arrives, the stores are turned into war zones.
It has become so extreme, that there’s often an ambulance car standing outside supermarkets, because people regularly get hurt. They run all over each other, fight, shout, drag, and stomp, just to get a discounted TV or any other item.
6. Independence Day
Here’s another one that’s special for America, and has nothing to do with the rest of the world, yet almost every single person on this planet knows about it, the way it’s celebrated, and what it represents.
It is more commonly known as the “4th of July”, and it’s a synonym for flashy fireworks, big parties, and drunk Americans. Men are prone to organizing barbecues with their buddies, showing off their mean barbecue skills. There are also various eating competitions held, especially hotdog eating ones.
American flags are everywhere to be seen, and another symbol of the Independence Day is the Statue of Liberty.
7. Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14th, and it’s the day for celebrating love and romance. People give each other notes, love cards, chocolate, jewelry, etc.
Even though this day was originally associated with love in England for the first time, Americans took over the mental and made it their own.
It’s also one of the largest days for the retail industry. Thanks to the amazing skills of the American marketing industry, the day has been highly commercialized. Because of all the American movies, it is celebrated and known worldwide.
Many companies now specialize in producing and selling “V-Day” merchandise, with the sole purpose of making big bucks. This has tarnished the original thought behind the holiday, because now, many people disapprove of it and even go as far as to boycott the holiday entirely.
8. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. St. Patrick is one of Ireland’s patron saints, who died on March 17th. According to a popular legend, he rid Ireland of snakes.
So, why is this holiday on the list of events that Americans made famous? Well, as we have figured out so far, by using their mastership in advertising, St. Patrick’s Day is most widely celebrated in America.
It used to be a day where only the Irish communities would gather up to celebrate it, but now all Americans celebrate it as well. Big parades are held and people are wearing large green hats and are dressed all in green. It’s also a popular day for getting drunk, especially with beer.
9. The Burning Man
This is one of the biggest music festivals in the world. The festival originally started out small. However, due to the large amounts of money invested in it, it has rapidly spread around, and now attracts more international participants, rather than Americans.
The festival takes place in the desert, in the Black Rock City, which is a temporary city created solely for the purpose of holding the festival. Tens of thousands of people come from all around the world every year.
The festival on its own is truly amazing. A lot of thought and money went into designing the festival grounds. It has large and artistic structures everywhere and a lot of things to see and do.
Recently, it had been taken over by a tech company’s CEO and turned into another money-making machine, with unthinkably large profits every year.
All of these events are widely known and widely celebrated thanks to the internet, and a few marketing geniuses. Although the whole idea of commercialization can be unpleasant sometimes due to the fact that it makes us feel objectivized, we cannot deny that it’s nice when people all around the world share fun and create great memories together, even if they are not in the same areas.
It makes us feel closer, and it creates a form of group mentality, which allows us to feel included, connected, and creates a cloud of togetherness.
