‘洋节’哈是么样儿来滴？？？？

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西方节源：St. Patrick’s Day Word Origins

the shamrock (irish seamróg) is a plant with trifoliate leaves and it is a symbol of st. patrick's day because tradition has it that st. patrick used the plant to explain the theological doctrine of the holy trinity (three persons in one god). the word is a diminutive of irish seamar 'clover'. the ancient druids associated the shamrock with the coming of spring and the rebirth of the natural world at the vernal equinox. the shamrock was later adopted as the national symbol of ireland. the phrase "to drown the shamrock" means 'to go drinking on st. patrick's day'. clover is the common name for this species of trefoil, but it was spelled various ways prior to 1600, which is also what happened to shamrock until around 1577.

the alcoholic liquor called beer has been around for quite some time. before 6000 bc, beer was made from barley in sumeria and babylonia. reliefs on egyptian tombs dating from 2400 bc show that barley or partly germinated barley was crushed, mixed with water, and dried into cakes. when broken up and mixed with water, the cakes give an extract that was fermented by microorganisms accumulated on the surfaces of fermenting vessels. the word's etymology is uncertain but it came to us through west germanic (bier) and is based on latin biber 'drink' from bibere 'to drink'.

in irish folklore, a leprechaun was a tiny sprite or fairy who carried a purse containing a shilling. the word is derived from old irish luchorpán 'wee ones', from lu 'small' + corp 'body'. over the years, the word luchorpán was confused with an irish word meaning 'one shoemaker'. the leprechaun started being depicted as a solitary creature working on a single shoe instead of a pair.

ireland's (irish éire) first human occupation did not begin until a late stage in the prehistory of europe. it has generally been held that the first arrivals were mesolithic hunter-fisher people, represented largely by flintwork found mainly in ancient beaches in the historic counties of antrim, down, louth, and dublin. the word éire may itself mean 'western land', from a root word related to gaelic iar 'west'. it first appears as ierne in greek writings which may have a base dating as early as the 5th century bc. the name appears as iouernia in ptolemy's map (c. ad 150) and has also been found translated into latin as iuverna. the latin form, hibernia, appears in the works of caesar, who may have confused it with the latin word hibernus 'wintry'. ériu was an old irish form of éire, and was seen in the earliest of irish literature.

rainbow comes from old norse regnbogi (becoming old english renboga, ren 'rain' + boga 'bend, bow') and is a bow or arch of the colors of the prism that is formed in the sky opposite to the sun by the reflection, double refraction, and dispersion of the sun's rays in falling drops of rain. there are many stories about the pot of gold existing at the end of a rainbow.

st. patrick, the patron saint of ireland, was not actually irish. he was born around ad 385, somewhere in roman britain, possibly near dumbarton, scotland. at 16, he was captured by irish raiders looking for slaves and he was taken there to tend sheep. after six years of slavery, he ran away and ended up wandering through southern gaul (france) and italy. there, he had a vision from god which told him to return to ireland and convert the pagans to christianity. returning to ireland around 432, st. patrick did missionary work until he died on march 17 in 464. the country of ireland went into mourning. the first st. patrick's day celebration in the united states was in 1737 in boston.

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西方节源：Spring Word Origins

the national game of the united states, baseball, is a more complicated variety of the english game rounders. the word baseball is formed from base + ball, so called from the four bases that are the boundaries of the infield and the circuit run by a player after hitting the ball. it is first attested in writing by jane austen in northanger abbey (1815), when she wrote about new england colonists playing a version of rounders in the 1700's.

bulb first meant 'onion' and evolved to mean the underground spheroid part of the onion, lily, or similar plants. the word came into english via latin bulbus from a greek word bolbós meaning 'onion, bulbous root'.

chipmunk (also chipmuck) is an american english word, first written chitmunk, that was borrowed from algonquian atchitamon, meaning 'one who descends trees headlong'. it is a species of ground squirrel and has the synonyms chipping squirrel, hackee, and striped squirrel. the first record of the word in writing is around 1841, though chitmunk was written about in 1832.

the early spring flower, daffodil, is a variant of affodill, borrowed from latin affodillus and asphodelus, from greek asphodelos. the initial added 'd' has not been explained, but could be related to the d' or de 'the' in french. this flower is also playfully called the daffadilly. though the daffodil was originally the asphodel, there was some controversy among botanists and the affodil was designated as part of the asphodel species and the daffodil as part of the narcissus but, later, affodil was changed to asfodyl/asphodel to finalize the distinction. what we now call the daffodil is the yellow narcissus.

an equinox, literally "equal night" from latin aequinoctium, occurs twice a year when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are equal in length - spring and autumn. the vernal equinox, marking the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere, occurs about march 21, when the sun moves north across the celestial equator. the autumnal equinox falls about september 23, as the sun crosses the celestial equator going south.

the word flower (first flur) came from latin florem which may have had an aryan root. the spelling changed to flower around the mid-14th century. however, it was also spelled flour, which caused some confusion with the milled grain. flour is taken from the french fleur de farine, literally 'the flower, or finest, of the meal (of grain)'.

garden was borrowed from french and started in english as gardin. that word ultimately came from gothic gard-s, which is of germanic origin.

the lilac shrub, cultivated for its fragrant blossoms, came into english in 1625, borrowed from french but traced back to persian nilak and nil 'blue, indigo'. lilac also describes a pale pinkish-purple color.

march mad is an obsolete term meaning 'being mad as a march hare' since during march (the breeding season) hares are wilder than at other times; hence the proverbial saying. the term march madness was first used in 1963 in reference to humans. by 1991, it was used in the san francisco chronicle, "the nation is now in the middle of 'march madness', that time of year when the ncaa basketball tournament takes place."

the spanish word primavera literally means 'spring' and first referred to a tree native to mexico and central america, so called for its early flowering. the word ultimately derives from latin primus 'first' and ver 'spring'. the italian culinary term primavera is short for alla primavera 'in the style of springtime', which denotes anything served with a mix of fresh spring vegetables, such as asparagus, broccoli, carrots, peas, peppers, or zucchini.

rain hearkens to gothic rign, probably ultimately from proto-germanic rezna-. this word for the condensed vapor of the atmosphere was first attested in english c 825. the word rainbow was first used c 1250, raindrop around 1400, rainstorm in 1816, rainy about 1834, and rainfall in 1854.

robin is actually a shortened form of robin redbreast, borrowed as a diminutive or familiar form of the personal name robert from french. robin was written about in english in 1549.

the original english word for the season spring was 'lent' and this was replaced by spring only in the 16th century, based on the notion of something beginning or rising, like water 'springs' from the ground.

thaw was first used as a verb in english as 'the melting of a frozen liquid or substance', having come from the scandinavian languages, old norse, norwegian, swedish, and danish. a form of this word was first attested c 1000.

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西方节源：April Fools’ Day Origin

there are several explanations for the origin of april fools' day, but here is the most plausible one. april 1st was once new year's day in france. in 1582, pope gregory declared the adoption of his gregorian calendar to replace the julian calendar and new year's day was officially changed to january 1st. it took awhile for everyone in france to hear the news of this major change and others obstinately refused to accept the new calendar, so a lot of people continued to celebrate new year's day on the first of april – earning them the name april fools. the april fools were subjected to ridicule and practical jokes and the tradition was born. the butts of these pranks were first called poisson d'avril or april fish because a young naive fish is easily caught. a common practice was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone as a joke. this evolved over time and a custom of prank-playing continues on the first day of april.

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西方节源：Easter Word Origins

wearing a new hat to church on easter sunday has been a common practice in the u.s., especially when hats were in vogue. the easter bonnet was celebrated as a custom in irving berlin's song "easter parade," written in 1933 and the wearing of a new hat and outfit on easter sunday symbolized spiritual rebirth. now the easter bonnet is seen more in the form of baskets or wreaths of flowers decorating the home. bonnet goes back through scottish to french chapel de bonet, "hat or cap of bonet (a fabric for hats)." before that, boneta / bonetus was a latin term for "material for hats."

rabbits were part of pre-christian fertility lore and symbolized the abundance of new life associated with spring. the ancient german goddess ostara (called eostre in anglo-saxon) was accompanied by a hare, which may have been the precursor of the modern easter bunny. (hares are the european cousins of rabbits and have shorter ears and longer hind legs than rabbits.) in germany, the easter bunny lays red eggs on maundy thursday and eggs of other colors on easter eve. the easter bunny came to america from german settlers who called him "oschter haws." the pennsylvania dutch prepared nests for the creature and on easter eve, the rabbit would lay colored eggs in these nests or in caps or bonnets left out for him. no one has come up with a good explanation of why a rabbit would lay eggs, though. the word bunny was first a term of endearment for a child or woman, perhaps formed from scottish bun, "tail of a hare."

easter eggs are a symbol of fertility and immortality and the egg is an important part of mythology, from the ancient egyptians onward. in christianity, the egg is associated with the rock tomb from which christ emerged to begin his new life. because the celebration of easter is preceded by the 40 days of lent, during which eggs and other dairy products are forbidden among orthodox christians, it is traditional to begin the easter meal in russia and eastern europe by cutting up an egg that has been blessed and distributing it to each family member and guest. the custom of dyeing easter eggs probably began with medieval travelers to egypt and persia, where people colored eggs for their spring festivals. according to german folklore, the easter bunny lays the eggs and hides them in the garden — although other creatures have also been given credit for the laying of the easter eggs. the term easter egg came into english c 1825 and was earlier called pace egg or paste-egg. chocolate easter eggs were introduced around 1880.

easter celebrates the resurrection of jesus. that morning, according to the gospel of luke, mary magdalene and some companions visited the cave where he was buried, but they found the tomb empty. an angel of the lord appeared and told them that jesus had risen. in the following days, jesus appeared to his disciples and explained the meaning of his death (for the sins of mankind) and his victory over death, which offered the promise of rebirth for those who believe in him. the word easter may come from eostre, the anglo-saxon name of a teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, whose festival was celebrated at the vernal equinox.

shrove tuesday is a time for confession and absolution, ash wednesday derives its name from the custom of marking the foreheads of penitents with ashes on that day, and maundy thursday (or holy thursday) developed from maunde, christ's injunction to love one another and the day celebrates the last supper and the ceremony of the washing of the feet. good friday illustrates good in the sense of "holy; observed as a holy day" and may be the oldest christian celebration, its name possibly a corruption of "god's friday." palm sunday commemorates jesus's triumphant entry into jerusalem where he was covered with palms by the multitudes.

self-denial during a period of religious devotion is a long-standing tradition in both eastern and western churches. the season of lent was fixed at 40 days during the ninth century (with sundays omitted). lent comes from an anglo-saxon word meaning "spring" or "lengthening days." it is a period of preparation for easter and a time to strengthen one's faith through repentance and prayer. lent has been observed with periods of fasting, abstinence from meat, dairy products, wine, etc.; and other penitential activities. it is a modern custom for christians to "give up something for lent" such as a favorite food, pleasure, or activity.

the flower called the easter lily was brought to the u.s. in the 1880s from bermuda. it was so called because it flowered around easter each year. lilies were a symbol of purity in medieval iconography and the bible mentions them as symbols of beauty, goodness, and perfection. the lily grows from a bulb that is buried and is then "reborn," like christ. its trumpet-shaped blooms suggest the angel gabriel's horn and herald the coming of spring and the celebration of easter.

hot cross buns are yeast buns traditionally eaten in the u.s. during lent, especially for breakfast on good friday. the buns are flavored with nutmeg and currants and, as the name implies, have a cross on top, made by cutting the buns with scissors before setting them to rise. each cross is frosted on the buns after baking. the practice of eating these small buns seems to date back to at least the ancient greeks. in england, the custom started during tudor times and they were first called cross buns. by the 19th century, hot was incorporated into the name.

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西方节源：Mother’s Day Word Origins

the second sunday in may is set aside in the united states to celebrate mothers. there is also a mother's day celebration in the united kingdom, denmark, finland, italy, turkey, australia, mexico, canada, china, japan, and belgium. england's "mothering sunday," similar to mother's day, is also called mid-lent sunday and it is observed on the fourth sunday in lent, though it has largely been replaced by mother's day on the second sunday in may. anna jarvis, born in grafton, west virginia in 1864, started the movement to have a mother's day. she wrote letters to politicians, newspaper editors, and church leaders and organized a committee called mother's day international association to promote the new holiday. she wanted mother's day to be close to memorial day so people would recognize mothers for the sacrifices they made for their families in the same way that servicepeople had for their country. the first official mother's day observance was in may 1907. president woodrow wilson gave the day national recognition in 1914. jarvis spent the last years of her life trying to abolish the holiday she had brought into being, because she protested its commercialization.

mother is one of the surviving words from anglo-saxon (starting as modor), which are among the most fundamental words in english. mother has many cognates in other languages, including old high german muoter, dutch moeder, old norse mothir, latin mater, greek meter, and sanskrit mat. these words share an indo-european root. mother is one of the anglo-saxon nouns that has an anglo-saxon adjective as well as a latinate adjective — motherly and maternal — and motherly also came from old english (modorlic). mom, a shortened form of momma, was recorded in 1894; momma was first used in 1884. both are chiefly north american uses. mamma and mama, created by children reduplicating an instinctive sound, are much earlier terms рshowing up in the 1500s. in between came mommy (also north american in usage) in 1848, which was a variant of mammy (also 1500s).

the carnation is the floral symbol of mother's day and the holiday is associated with the colors red and white. some people wear white carnations on this day to honor mothers who have died and red or pink for those who are living. the "founder" of mother's day, anna jarvis, urged people to wear carnations because carnations had been her own mother's favorite flower. carnation is the general name for the cultivated variety of the clove-pink. it is likely that the word derived from coronation, as the flower's dented leaves somewhat resemble a crown.

the word family first referred to the servants of a household and then to both the servants and the descendants of a common ancestor. it comes from latin familia, "household; household servants," which came from another latin term famulus, "servant." it was not until 1667 that the term was used specifically for the group of persons consisting of parents and their children.

the history of greeting cards goes back hundreds of years. early greeting cards were hand-delivered and handmade. their popularity forced the introduction of the first postage stamp in 1840. the oldest known greeting card in existence is one for valentine's day, made in the 1400s and now displayed in the british museum. the most popular card-sending holidays in order are christmas, valentine's day, mother's day, easter, and father's day. together, the greeting card associations says these five card-sending holidays account for 96 percent of individual seasonal card sales.

to nurture means "to feed or nourish a child" and also "to raise and support to maturity." the verb was formed after the noun, which came into english via anglo-norman and old french. as a noun, nurture first referred (c 1330) to a person's training or breeding. the word can be traced back to latin nutritus, meaning "to nourish."

daughter is a very old english word, first recorded c. 1000 as dohtor. it descends from old english and is related to words in many other indo-european languages, such as greek thugater. the modern spelling daughter was first used in a 16th century bible and was popularized by shakespeare. the word son is quite a bit older, found in beowulf in 645. it also descends from old english and is related to words in many other indo-european languages, such as greek huios. in 2000, it was estimated that the ratio of the sexes was thus: from birth to under 15 years old there are 1.05 males per 1 female, from 15-64 years of age there are 1.02 males per 1 female, and 65 years and over 0.78 males to 1 female, with the total population being 1.01 males per 1 female.

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西方节源：Memorial Day Word Origins

memorial day was originally set aside to honor the civil war dead from the north by decorating their graves with flowers and it at first was called "decoration day." in 1866, the first commemorations were held in waterloo, new york, and in columbus, mississippi. the american flag was flown at half-staff and a veterans" parade marched to the village cemetery, where patriotic speeches were given. the first national decoration day was held on may 30, 1868 by union army veterans known as the grand army of the republic. the may 30 date was close to the date of the final surrender of the confederate army (may 26, 1865). the southern states started remembering their soldiers on a confederate memorial day on various dates. after world war i, the american legion took over the observance, renaming it memorial day, setting it for the last monday in may, and dedicating in the honor of all those who died in u.s. wars. some southern states continue to observe a separate day to honor the confederate dead.

memorial day is observed with the laying of a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns in arlington national cemetery in arlington, virginia, and by religious services, parades, and speeches nationwide. flags, insignia, and flowers are placed on the graves of veterans in local cemeteries.

the word decoration comes from latin decorationem, from decorare, "to adorn or beautify." the practice of decorating graves with flowers and wreathes began during the civil war, so it became a natural part of the observance. in columbus, mississippi, where both union and confederate soldiers were honored in 1866, the strewing of flowers on the graves became a symbol of friendship and understanding between the north and the south.

a flag as a piece of cloth used as a standard, signal, or symbol in english dates to the late 15th century. the word may be an onomatopoeic representation for such a cloth flapping in the wind, but the origin remains obscured. as far as the american flag goes, there are many theories about its origin, with the story of betsy ross being the most famous. on memorial day, the flag is flown at half-mast, a symbol of mourning, from sunrise until noon, and at full staff from noon until sunset.

the word grave as a place of burial dates to c 1000, though the verb form (now obsolete) meaning "to dig," may have come first and is of germanic origin.

we know a patriot to be one who loves his or her country and is keenly interested in promoting the welfare of the country. it was not used in this sense until 1605, with its original use being " a fellow countryman or compatriot" (now obsolete). the word came into english from french and earlier from latin patriota, "fellow countryman" and greek patris meaning "one's fatherland."

red paper poppies are used to symbolize war dead because real poppies bloomed everywhere in the battle graveyards of france. the veterans of foreign wars had their first paper "poppy sale" in 1922 to raise money for disabled and destitute veterans. at one time, many people referred to memorial day as "poppy day." the poppy was first recorded in english around 700, from latin papaver, which may be related to latin papula, "papule," as the flower contains rounded capsules which contain many small round seeds. this herbal plant or flower of the genus papaver grows in temperate and subtropical regions.

war, first coming into old english (c 1154) as werre or warre, from anglo-norman french, is ultimately of germanic origin.

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西方节源：Father’s Day Word Origins

the celebration of father's day was inspired by the success of mother's day (which was observed nationally for the first time in 1914). sonora smart dodd of spokane, washington, was listening to a mother's day sermon in church in 1909 and decided that fathers deserved a similar day of recognition. her father, a civil war veteran, raised sonora and her five siblings after their mother died in childbirth. she circulated a petition suggesting the third sunday in june (the month in which her father was born) and urging people to wear a rose on that day in honor of their fathers. the first father's day was celebrated on june 19, 1910. it was not until 1966, under president lyndon b. johnson, that it was proclaimed a national holiday and observance of this on the third sunday in june was made a law in 1972.

the word father first appeared in old english spelled as fæder (c. 825), having derived from assumed germanic fadar. it has cognates (relatives) in many other languages: dutch vader and german vater, as well as forms in old norse, swedish, danish, gothic, etc., latin and greek pater, old irish athir, and sanskrit pitar; all of these words share an indo-european root. the use of the word father as a verb did not occur until 1483. common synonyms for father are dad and daddy (c. 1500), papa (c. 1681), pa (c. 1811), pop (c. 1838), poppa (c. 1897), and pops (c. 1928). (you only need to capitalize father or its synonyms when you are referring to your own father.)

just as the carnation became a symbol of mother's day, the rose was suggested and became connected to father's day. some observe the custom of wearing a red rose to indicate that one's father is living or a white rose to indicate that he is deceased. the flower and plant rose comes from a shrub of the genus rosa. red is the most frequent color, but roses are also white, yellow, pink, and various shades of peach and pink. the old english form rose came from latin rosa, which may have been an adoption of the greek word rhodon, "rose."

the creation of mother's day was a godsend for the florist industry. its counterpart for father's day is the necktie or tie. neckties started appearing on the earliest father's day greeting cards and retailers saw this and took advantage, suggesting this as a great practical gift. the word tie ("band, cord, rope") came into old english by 800 in the form teah, teag, or teagum, developed from proto-germanic. the word necktie dates from around 1838 when it first hit the fashion scene as a narrow band of material worn around the collar (neck) of a shirt and tied in front. as early as 1920, the custom of giving a neckties to fathers as a token of affection took hold. other popular gifts are socks, pipes and cigars, and shirts.

golf is a game that many fathers look forward to enjoying before or after being feted on father's day. the word originally comes from scottish (golf, gouf) for the game was first played in scotland by 1457. the word might be related to dutch kolf, "bat, club" (derived from proto-germanic), but no definite connection has been shown. the verb golf, "to play golf," did not emerge until 1800.

the word family first referred to the servants of a household and then to both the servants and the descendants of a common ancestor. it comes from latin familia, "household; household servants," which came from another latin term famulus, "servant." it was not until 1667 that the term was used specifically for the group of persons consisting of parents and their children.

the history of greeting cards goes back hundreds of years. early greeting cards were hand-delivered and handmade. their popularity forced the introduction of the first postage stamp in 1840. the oldest known greeting card in existence is one for valentine's day, made in the 1400s and now displayed in the british museum. the most popular card-sending holidays in order are christmas, valentine's day, mother's day, easter, and father's day. together, the greeting card associations says these five card-sending holidays account for 96 percent of individual seasonal card sales.

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西方节源：Summer Word Origins

summer is the warmest season of the year and starts at the summer solstice and runs till the autumnal equinox. the word summer derives from old norse sumar, but ultimately is from proto-germanic. by the late 1500s to early 1600s, it locked into its current spelling. the term midsummer actually refers to the day of the summer solstice as well as the "middle of summer." its formation was patterned on words like midday, midnight, and midwinter.

bonfire comes from the words bone and fire, referring to an open-air burning of bones or funeral pyre. the oxford english dictionary describes the use in scotland of the form bane-fire and also to the annual midsummer banefire or bonfire in the burgh of hawick, for which bones were collected and stored regularly until around 1800. lighting bonfires was one of the most universal of ancient midsummer rites and one that still survives in some northern european countries. the solstice bonfires were believed to prevent cattle disease and were also associated with human courtship and fertility.

the phrase dog days is said to have originated in roman times as canicularis dies, 'days of the dog,' referring to the dog star sirius or procyon. the romans thought the rising of the most brilliant star of the constellation canis major contributed to the heat of summer.

the word humidity is from latin humidus, from humere 'to be moist.' humidity was found in english c 1400.

the solstice is one of the two times of year when the sun's apparent path is farthest north or south from the earth's equator. in the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice is on june 21 or 22, the longest day of the year. the situation is exactly the opposite in the southern hemisphere, where the summer solstice is on december 21 or 22. the word solstice is from latin solstitium, from sol 'sun' and sistere 'to stand still,' as it is regarded as a point at which the sun seems to stand still. the word was first used in english around 1250.

though modern observances of the summer solstice are rare, there were celebrations in ancient times in europe, the british isles, china, egypt, north africa, and scandinavia. these include the celebration in ancient egypt at the temple of amen-ra at karnak, starting around 3700 b.c.e., where a beam of light would illuminate a sanctuary in the temple's interior for about two or three minutes on the day of the solstice. a similar phenomenon was observed at stonehenge in southwest england. if one stands at the center of the monument and faces northeast along its axis, the 35-ton heel stone appears 256 feet away, marking the approximate place on the horizon where the sun rises on the summer solstice. astronomers have discovered at least two dozen other solar and lunar alignments that the ancient builders of stonehenge incorporated into its structure.

vacation is a word coming from latin vacation/vacatio, from vacare 'to be free, empty; to be at leisure.' around 1395, this term entered old english, meaning 'rest and freedom from any activity.'

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西方节源：Fourth of July Word Origins

independence day or fourth of july is the annual celebration of the united states' "birthday," the date of the passage of the declaration of independence by the continental congress on july 4, 1776. the first celebrations included bell ringing, bonfires, processions, and speeches. in some towns, these celebrations also had a mock funeral for the king, symbolizing the end of america's rule by the british monarchy. it was not until 1941, however, that congress officially established the fourth of july as a legal holiday. the date could easily have been july 2, the day on which the continental congress approved a resolution for independence, or august 2, the day on which the members of congress actually signed the document. but it was on july 4 that the final text of the declaration, which had been drafted by thomas jefferson, was ratified. by 1788, the fourth of july also commemorated the u.s. constitution as well, which had recently been approved by ten states.

feasting has always been part of fourth of july celebrations. in the beginning there were banquets, but this has evolved into outdoor barbecues and picnics. barbecue was originally a word for a wooden framework for sleeping or for drying or storing meat or fish. the word derives from arawak or haitian or taina barbacoa and became spanish barbacoa, "wooden frame on posts" or "framework for meat over fire." barbeque is the variant spelling. in english, the word's first meanings were the framework and the animal roasted on it; the usage of "social entertainment" is not recorded until 1733. picnic is from french pique-nique, but that word's origin is unknown. picnics started out as social occasions (the word first recorded in english in 1748) to which each participant brought comestibles.

the bald eagle (also called the american or white-headed eagle, haliaeetus leucocephalus) is the national bird of the united states and one of the largest birds in the world. "bald" in this instance means "white," not "hairless." eagle comes from the latin word aquila, "black eagle," from aquilus, "dark-colored," which it is until it gets the white head plumage as an adult. the eagle has been a symbol of freedom and liberty and power since ancient times. some people, like benjamin franklin, did not agree that the eagle was an appropriate symbol. franklin thought the turkey was a better choice for the national bird.

the term for a combustible or explosive or pyrotechnic ("pertaining to fire art") projectile was "rocket" until fireworks was used in 1777 to describe these in connection with the first fourth of july celebration. "rockets" are still the most popular form of firework. rockets are lifted by recoil from the jet of fire created by the burning ingredients — and they are designed for maximum combustion and maximum thrust. fireworks originated in ancient china. the word firecracker refers to those that make loud sounds and sparklers are those that send off a shower of sparks. the very first fourth of july celebrations in 1777 included fireworks as a part of the festivities.

a flag as a piece of cloth used as a standard, signal, or symbol in english dates to the late 15th century. the word may be an onomatopoeic representation for such a cloth flapping in the wind, but the origin remains obscured. as far as the american flag goes, there are many theories about its origin, with the story of betsy ross being the most famous.

the first fourth of july parade took place on the potomac river in washington, d.c. when president john quincy adams led a boat procession up the river. parade comes from a french word meaning "a showing" or "action of stopping a horse," originating from latin parare, "to prepare."

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西方节源：Back-to-School Word Origins

the word college comes from latin collegium, "association, partnership," from collega, "partner in office." in english, it dates from the 14th century and its early meanings were for a body of colleagues or an assemblage, as of companions. as an educational institution, it first referred to a self-governing corporation or society in a university, as the college of the sorbonne in the university of paris, and the colleges of oxford and cambridge. in roman law, a collegium was a body of persons associated for a common function. the name was used by many medieval institutions – from guilds to the body that elected the holy roman emperor. the word university is from latin universitas, "the whole," from universus, "combined into one." the term was used in english by 1300 and it referred to a whole body of teachers and students at a place for higher education. the words college and university are sometimes used synonymously. however, the difference usually drawn between a college and a university is that a college offers degrees in one or a few specific areas, while a university is a collection of colleges. when one attends a university, one is likely to be enrolled and then graduating from one of its colleges, such as the business college or college of fine arts. a university differs from a college in that it is usually larger, has a broader curriculum, and offers graduate and professional degrees in addition to undergraduate degrees. the earliest western institution that could be called a university was a medical school in salerno, italy, in the 9th century.

library comes from latin libraria, "bookshop," and librarius, "relating to books," from liber, "book." chaucer was the first recorded user of the word library in english (c 1374) as a place set aside to hold books for reading, reference, and study. a latinized greek word, bibliotheca, is the origin of the word for library in german, russian, and the romance languages. archaeologists have found a temple in the babylonian town of nippur, dating from the first half of the 3rd millennium bc, in which a number of rooms were filled with clay tablets, suggesting a well-stocked archive or library.

at first, pencil denoted a fine paintbrush and the word is derived from a diminutive of latin peniculus, "brush" – which itself is actually a diminutive of penis "tail." chaucer also holds the distinction of having first used the word pencil (c 1386) as the instrument used in painting. by 1612, a pencil was a writing instrument – a thin cylinder with a tapering point made of various materials such as chalk, charcoal, graphite, plumbago, slate, etc. the amount of clay used determines the degree of hardness of the lead in a pencil, e.g. no.1 is soft, no. 2 is medium-soft, etc.

school traces back to greek skhole "lectureplace," but earlier it meant "leisure," "learned discussion," and "study." this very old word appeared in english by 1000 ad and it has cognates in nearly all celtic, romance, and teutonic languages. it became latin schola "school," and then old english scól.

the word study is based on latin studium which meant "painstaking application" or "zeal, eagerness," and was related to latin studere "to be zealous." student, studio, and studious all share this base. study's earliest uses are surprising: "affection, friendliness" (again, by chaucer, c 1374), an "occupation or pursuit," and "a state of reverie or abstraction; state of perplexity." soon, though, it was used to mean thought or effort that was applied toward the accomplishment of a purpose.

teach in old english (c 888) first meant "to present or point out; instruct" and the word is of germanic origin. the word teacher was first used to mean "that which points out or shows," and then quickly became used in the sense of "instructor."