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I had a Korean roommate in college who once commented on the dearth of holidays we Americans observed. Apparently, most countries average two to three times as many holidays as we officially observe.
The current discussion of Cinco de Mayo has got me to thinking...we seem to have four varieties of holidays in this country. Ones that have: A) some sort of ceremonial or ritual observances (possibly including gifts), but with no time off (e.g. Ash Wednesday, Halloween, Mother's Day); B) ones that amount to little more than a pretext for having a day off (Labor Day, Columbus Day [if you happen to be a Fed employee]); C) useless holidays that exist in name only (United Nations Day, Armed Forces Day [I can say it - I'm a vet ;-) ]); and D) Days that involve both ritual and time off (Xmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day)
We hold Class D holidays closest to our hearts, but my former roommate was right there aren't enough of these. Which brings me to my question - what can we do to 'punch up' some of the more lame holidays out there to squeeze more fun outta them?.....I was thinking maybe Columbus Day should be approached more thematically - you know, host parties where guests dress up in 1492 Rennaisance garb and chug beer out of tankards (I'm not talking SCA dweebiness where people discuss +2 Bracers of Defense - I'm talking more like a hybrid Halloween/Superbowl Sunday). Maybe St. Patty's Day shouldn't be a day off but I sincerely believe the day AFTER should be...... :-#
The current discussion of Cinco de Mayo has got me to thinking...we seem to have four varieties of holidays in this country. Ones that have: A) some sort of ceremonial or ritual observances (possibly including gifts), but with no time off (e.g. Ash Wednesday, Halloween, Mother's Day); B) ones that amount to little more than a pretext for having a day off (Labor Day, Columbus Day [if you happen to be a Fed employee]); C) useless holidays that exist in name only (United Nations Day, Armed Forces Day [I can say it - I'm a vet ;-) ]); and D) Days that involve both ritual and time off (Xmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day)
We hold Class D holidays closest to our hearts, but my former roommate was right there aren't enough of these. Which brings me to my question - what can we do to 'punch up' some of the more lame holidays out there to squeeze more fun outta them?.....I was thinking maybe Columbus Day should be approached more thematically - you know, host parties where guests dress up in 1492 Rennaisance garb and chug beer out of tankards (I'm not talking SCA dweebiness where people discuss +2 Bracers of Defense - I'm talking more like a hybrid Halloween/Superbowl Sunday). Maybe St. Patty's Day shouldn't be a day off but I sincerely believe the day AFTER should be...... :-#