The Origin Stories Behind 30 of Your Favorite Holidays By Tiffany Onyejiaka, Stacker News On 1/24/21 at 9:00 AM EST More than just a day to rest or have fun, holidays often call on people to celebrate, reflect, or engage with their families and communities. Some holidays are geared toward commemorating special events and people, while others are born from religions. Various other holidays were created to encourage awareness and to help fix some of society's biggest problems. Many of the most important and catalytic moments of history or people are marked as holidays, including Juneteenth, Canada Day, and the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.