Been thinking a lot about holidays lately. Thought I'd go through and rank them according to me. I consider a holiday any important day to me or my family and friends. Here goes, in calendar order.
New Year's Eve - New Year's Day
A fun two days but not in my pantheon of holidays. Winter is my least favorite season so holidays that fall during that time have an uphill battle in my opinion. New Year's Eve is over blown especially since I don't drink which wipes out almost all of the parties going on that night. Add the morons who drink and drive and you have a night that just doesn't do it for me.
New Year's Day is better simply because of the Bowl Games. What keeps this day from being truly great is the fact that the BCS games are later in the week.
Martin Luther King Day
Way underrated and unappreciated.
Vikki Blaine's Birthday
First of my Pantheon of Holidays. My wonderful wife was born on January 20th.
Washington's Birthday / Presidents Day
Important days for sure but my kids enjoy them more since they get the day off.
Valentines Day
First of the over-commercialized holidays. We are getting closer to Spring so the time of year is better.
My Mom and Grandma's Birthdays
They sandwich Valentine's day and are of much more importance to the family.
March Madness
A 3 week holiday that is in the upper Pantheon of Holidays. During this time I celebrate the greatest game going NCAA Basketball. Get the brackets, smack talk and ribs for the Final Four ready.
Easter
Definitely on my Pantheon of Holidays. I am a religious person and this day has special meaning. Commercialization is threatening Easter but I think it can hold on.
May 29th - Our Anniversary
Next entry in the Pantheon of Holidays for obvious reasons. Usually the same weekend as...
Memorial Day
Now we are full bore into Spring. The days are longer which brings more sunshine :)
July 4th
A great day that just has to be on my Pantheon. Middle of Summer which is perfect. Fireworks, grilling and long days.
Ramadan
Shout out to my Muslim friends
Labor Day
Nice to have the day off and pretty cool when we get to take a trip during this time. Also a somber occasion as Summer is coming to an end. :(
Columbus Day
Way too political but again the kids like it because no school.
Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur
Shout out to my Jewish friends.
Diwali
Shout out to my Indian friends. Their biggest festival of the year. They celebrate the harvest, a new calendar year and the festival of lights. Way cool. Also a good excuse to put lights on the house in October!
Halloween
The kids love it, I support them in having fun but that is about it.
Veteran's Day
Another one that is way underrated and under appreciated. Thanks to my military/vet buddies.
Thanksgiving
Leader on the Pantheon of Holidays. It's all about being together with the family and being grateful (what Christmas should be, soon to be explained). A good 4 day weekend, good food, time with friends and family and lots of football games. Not a lot of stress and some good time to relax and recharge. Too bad the recharging doesn't last long though because of Christmas (I'm getting to it).
Chanukah
My Jewish friends have it right, I think they still concentrate on the true meaning of their holiday during this time. Which brings me to...
Christmas
Not on my Pantheon of Holidays for several reasons. The first and most obvious is the over the top commercialization of the season. How much do we as a people go into debt buying stuff we really don't need (or want to be given)? Add that to the stress that visibly shows on people because of trying to figure out how to pay for this? Or where can I find that? What happens when my brother doesn't give me something the same value as what I gave him? On and on and on. All this overshadows the true reason Christmas exists, to remember and celebrate the birth of our Savior. Can Christmas be saved? We are working on it in our house.
