On the desk in my study is a large calendar. Occasionally, I can find it if I move all the papers, notes, stacks of books to be read sometime in the future, bits of memorabilia created by a grandchild or other assorted things.
On that calendar are blocks of space for each day of the month with enough space for me to write important notes or reminders, things like “pay this bill by this date” or “don’t forget to eat supper” on this one or “go to the doctor” this day. Also, on some of those spaces are bits of information deemed significant, things like “summer begins” on June 21st or “Full moon” on Nov. 12.
But most of the other significant and meaningful events are mainly holidays, many of them faith-based, things like Christmas Day or Thanksgiving Day or Easter, which some folks refer to as “Resurrection Sunday.” In addition, there are other religious celebrations, the Jewish celebration Yom Kippur, for instance, as well as some from the Middle East I can’t pronounce.
There are other holidays — Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Halloween and All Saints Day, among others. In addition, there are nationalistic holidays — for the U.S., July 4, Independence Day and Patriots Day on Sept 11. Holidays of other nations are also marked — days like July 1, Canada Day, and September 16, Mexico Independence Day.
But what really caught my eye as I pondered the calendar and its notations was the question of what’s behind those celebrations. Why are they there? Some of the answers are sort of obvious.
Take, for instance, May 1 — “May Day.”
In Russia, there’s a bit of nationalistic pride, at least historically. The day once featured lengthy parades displaying vast amounts of Soviet military hardware. Most Soviet cities had obligatory workers’ marches on this day until 1990. Two years later, the Russian Parliament renamed the holiday Spring and Labor Day.
In my growing up days in the suburbs of Pittsboro, 1960 population 1,080, May Day was the day we grabbed long ribbons tied to the top of a metal flagpole and danced around the May pole on the front lawn of the high school, happy to see the arrival of spring, which meant it wasn’t long until school was out. Not sure I could dance anywhere today — or that you would want to see it, spring or no spring.
President’s Day, of course, used to be Washington’s Birthday, celebrated on Feb. 22, his birthday as well as that of my older brother who always said the national holiday was in his honor. It used to be that the holiday and day off was on whatever day of the week the 22nd happened to fall until somebody in Washington realized that if it was moved to the Monday closest to the 22nd then there could be a 3-day weekend. The logic, if there is such a thing, was that way all Presidents could be honored, including not only Washington but Millard Fillmore, as well.
Canada Day remembers July 1, 1867, when the Constitution Act was adopted for that nation and Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick became one nation while Mexico Independence Day honors that country’s independence in 1821 from Spanish rule. There’s another national day in Canada called Civic Holiday, August 5. While it’s not a statutory federal holiday, many folks take the day off for what is often called “August long weekend,” a lesson learned by the Canadian ambassador to Washington.
Throughout the years, some holidays have been absorbed and the reasons for them modified. Again, in Canada, for instance, St. Jean Baptiste Day, celebrated mostly in Quebec, began as a religious celebration. It’s now primarily a patriotic event after St. Jean was chosen as the patron and protector of the area. While there is a celebration of Mass, there’s also a lot of other events, including parades, bonfires, dances, fairs, food and some things not necessarily religious in nature.
Other holidays have interesting backgrounds. Take, for instance, Boss’s Day — Oct. 16. Supposedly that’s a day when employees can thank their employers for being fair and kind. The only problem with that is that if your boss is neither, you may be between that proverbial rock and hard place. There are many who maintain it’s just a Hallmark Holiday, aimed at selling more greeting cards and gadgets. Corresponding to that is the once named “Secretaries Day,” now going by the lengthier title of “Administrative Assistant Day.” Same idea, to many.
Lest you become saturated with more data than you’d like about holidays, I want to arrive at one last point. While all of the above may be a part of the larger view of life, what I really wonder about is some of the lesser-known celebrations, the kind that didn’t make the calendar. Did you know, for instance, that June 8 is “Queen’s Official Birthday” in Tuvalu, a small Polynesian island that is part of the Commonwealth of Nations? Not sure if they have a cake for Queen Elizabeth or not but, hey, it’s a holiday.
And then two of my newly-found favorites — June 10 — “Worldwide Knit in Public Day” and, best of all, “National Iced Tea Day.”
We just missed it. But to make up for that, I’ll have one more round of Lipton’s best.
Happy Holidays to you.
