Hey...don't forget St David's day! Or Up-Hell-Aa, or Burn's Night, or Easter, or Mardi Gras (or Daytona, or Spring Break or The Masters or Indy) for that matter. For me and my clan they are all milestones to be passed on the way out of the Bad of the Year into the Good of the Year.
With the exception of Easter we don't "celebrate" any of them, but WE DO OBSERVE and RECOGNIZE them as part of our family heritage.
I think a lot of it comes from us living without (central)heat in an area that gets it's share of cold and snow.
Helps to pass the time.
prisoner6