I keep getting depressed to see each and every year that Christmas tends to be advertised just a bit earlier..
I mean, before we know it, Back to School shopping will come with a 10% off Christmas apparel coupon or something!
Let's face it, Halloween and Christmas make BIG bucks for retailers. Costumes, decorations, goodies, presents, food.. It's just one big rummage sale once October hits.
Now? I was watching Christmas decorations being put up in one section of a store, and just across the aisle was the stuff for Halloween.. It kind of made me dizzy to see so much crap in so many places all at once.
We tend to totally forget about Thanksgiving, well aside from the unashamed gluttony that we allow ourselves that one Thursday of November, and then laze around and watch parades and football games!
When will we start doing the same kind of push in this country for Independence Day? I mean, if you really want to get down to it, that day commemorates the reason that we can make so much cash for Halloween and Christmas! Make it some kind of patronage day or something if you must, but at least give a tip of the hat or nod of recognition for it, shall we?
How about President's Day? I mean, there have been some serious leaders who have steered this country to greatness, and there have been some morons in office who couldn't have led us out of a Ziploc baggie, much less a bucket! Yet even these folks deserve our respect and admiration for getting where they were and the nod of respect for the office itself.
Memorial day? Anyone know why it's called that? Maybe to remember someone? Maybe? Any takers? Veterans day is a gimme, but at least with that one they didn't make it totally ambiguous so that those stoners can't forget what it is that makes the post office close early that day.
Valentine's day? Just another commercial gimmick for me. I mean, candy, flowers, gifts.. All I see is a bigger debt for me, and some flowers that will die within a week.. Hooray!
Easter? It's only a matter of time before "separation of Church and State" does away with this celebration, so I don't see it lasting much longer..
St. Patrick's day? Now here's a celebration I can get behind! Get drunk, drink some questionable beers, and hope you don't remember what it is you were doing or celebrating for. Amen.
Cinco de Mayo. Yes, we immortalize a celebration for another country here in our own nation just a bit more than our own. Don't ask me why.
New Years. Ah yes, the day when we get with friends and family, eat, watch TV, and make promises to ourselves that we have absolutely NO intention of following through with. Eventually we go to some strange bar, drink toasts with strangers, count down to the new year, kiss some strange people, and wake up the next day with a serious hangover that we are given a day off of work to recover.
Mardi Gras. The day when adolescent men get to see boobs if only they can afford to get a few cheap plastic necklace beads. Ah, what a great holiday!
I don't understand the motivation for most of the celebrations we as a country decide to honor, and I don't know what kind of motivations we have for WANTING to celebrate these days either.
Can someone else explain it to me?
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2 comments:
I would not be the one who should explain it to you, after all, Thanksgiving just happens to be my favorite holiday, and one of only a select few holidays I celebrate
When I studied abroad in England, there were a couple of days when classes were cancelled and everything was closed due to a "bank holiday." I asked around quite a bit and no one could articulate what was being commemorated. So we're not alone.
Independence Day DOES strike me as a big holiday, though maybe not in the correct spirit. There are lots of sales on beer and snacks (and fireworks if you live in the right state), and the stores turn red, white and blue. The ones that have stayed "small" are the hard-to-market ones, but maybe it's good that they back off and let us commemorate them our own way. I'd hate to see how Veterans Day would be merchandised.
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