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and flowers. The gifts are meant to be given to someone you love in
a romantic way, but children usually give valentines to all the
children in their class. The pink and red decorations for Valentine's
Day start appearing in stores not long after the Christmas
decorations have come down.
St. Patrick's Day is on March 17, and given the large
number of people who can claim Irish descent in the United Slates,
this is usually pretty big event. Some cities with large Irish
populations will stage parades on the day, but it also provides the
average American an occasion to wear green and drink green-tinted
beer. Children often pinch anyone who is not wearing green.
Americans have no idea that wearing green is a political statement.

AMERICANS ON VACATION

With the United States being one of the most affluent nations
in the world, Americans are able to travel to most parts of the
world, and they do. Many people will go for the organized,
fourteen European-countries-in-ten-days type of tour, in order to
get the most of their limited vacation time and their investment.
Younger people favor the less structured, backpacking
approach to travel. In fact, it has become something of a
requirement to complement a college education by backpacking
around Europe, almost like the Grand Tour of old.
Americans also travel quite a lot within their own country,
especially on long weekend breaks or on trips based around a
particular activity, such as golfing, skiing, rafting, fishing, or even
shopping. National parks and other areas of natural beauty are
popular destinations.
Americans also enjoy road trips and camping trips, where they
can travel in their own cars or RVs, at their own pace and without
having to depend on anyone else. Another big draw, especially for
families with children, are theme parks, like Walt Disney World in
Florida, which Americans invented and specialize in, and which
provide entertainment for the whole family.
Traveling in an RV is a wildly popular thing to do, especially
for couples who have retired. They sell their big houses, buy a
small apartment and an RV, and travel to visit their children and"
see the sights" of America they never had time to see while they