I admit, I love Patriot's Day. I lived away from MA for 23 years, and I would secretly celebrate it myself in FL and AZ by watching the Marathon on TV and reading about American History. Yesterday, when we marched over the North Bridge, where the ceremony was, I thought about how when we came here to look for houses the year before we moved. We took the kids to this spot and Scott was scared to death he was going to fall in the river (he was 4)! It's amazing that a kid who was so afraid of so many things turned out to be a fearless Marine! Also, I have lots of good memories of him and my older son climbing the huge trees here and playing along the river when they were in elementary school.
I also loved Parada del Sol and Cinco de Mayo in AZ. I know some people celebrate those holidays just as an excuse to drink, but there's a lot of cultural aspects to them that are really interesting.