To celebrate means to mark a special occasion or achievement with joy and festivity. When your family celebrates a birthday, you might have cake, sing songs, and give presents. When a team celebrates winning a championship, players might cheer, hug each other, and spray each other with water or sports drinks.

Celebrating recognizes that something important or wonderful has happened. People celebrate holidays like Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July. Scientists celebrate breakthroughs in their research. A community might celebrate when a new park opens or when someone returns home safely after a long absence.

The word comes from big, public festivities, but we also celebrate smaller, quieter moments. A teacher might celebrate when her students finally grasp a difficult concept. You might celebrate finishing a challenging book or learning to ride a bike without training wheels.

When we celebrate, we're saying, “This matters. This is worth remembering and honoring.” A celebration is the event itself, whether it's a massive parade or just your family sitting together at dinner, grateful for something good. Celebrations remind us to notice and appreciate the good things in our lives rather than letting them pass by unnoticed.