Uncle Drosselmeyer is Clara's mystical Uncle. He presents Clara with a Nutcracker doll and is the architect of her magical adventure.

Pigpen plays the dusty innkeeper in the Christmas play.

Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe, who celebrated the harvest around a bonfire, shared ghost stories, sang, danced, and told fortunes.

Sorry Charlie Day, celebrated on April 6, is for all of us who have been spurned, and yet somehow survived it.

The Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, is observed on April 5 to honor the death of Chiang Kai-shek on that day in 1975. In the mainland, the holiday is associated with the consumption of qingtuan, green dumplings made of glutinous rice and barley grass.

Mad Hatter Day is celebrated each year on October 6 because the Mad Hatter wears a top hat labeled "In this style 10/6" in the book's illustrations. It is also six months from April Fools' Day, the first silly holiday of the year.

The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later, in 1986.

On March 17, 461 A.D., Saint Patrick, Christian missionary, bishop and apostle of Ireland, died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, where he had built his first church.

A study in the 1950s by folklorists Iona and Peter Opie found that in the UK and countries whose traditions derived from the UK, a rule has been in place since the 1700s that the April Fools' custom ceases at noon, after which time it is considered bad luck to play pranks. Anyone playing a prank after midday is considered the "April fool" themselves.

The Father's Day card business will ring up about $780 million this year, but only 50% of those cards are purchased for dads. Nearly 15% of Father's Day cards are purchased for husbands. Other recipients include grandfathers, sons, brothers, and uncles.