Holidays that Should Be Celebrated Every Day

I've found that there are basically two types of people in the world when it comes to the celebration of holidays. There are those that revel in the excitement of any kind of holiday celebration and there are those who approach holidays with a more "Scrooge-like" mentality. While I have sometimes been accused of falling into the latter group, there are several holidays that I think would be worth celebrating year round, if we could strip away some of the commercialized trappings and focus on the true meaning behind the celebrations.

New Year with a Fresh Start

While some people look forward to the noisy, crowded, alcohol abundant New Year's Eve parties, I find that I can take or leave the crowds. However, I do like the spirit of renewal that seems to accompany the start of a New Year. People just seem a bit more optimistic at least temporarily as they make resolutions and look forward to a fresh start.

If we could only keep that feeling of optimism alive throughout the year and exhibit a willingness to pick ourselves up and start fresh even when we falter, I think the world might just become a slightly more positive place all year long.

Matters of the Heart

There are those who criticize Valentine's Day as an "artificial holiday" created by greeting card companies, florists and candy shops as simply a money making scheme.

Today however, many of us live in a world where the increased use of technology seems to be robbing us of opportunities for personal connections. It is a world where the combination of growing geographic mobility and hectic schedules make it much less likely that we will know our neighbors well.

In this atmosphere of growing isolation I think perhaps that the spirit of love, connection and friendship is something many of us would do well to celebrate throughout the entire year. Instead of the highly commercialized, $50 for one dozen roses, jewelry store bonanza that characterizes the modern Valentine's day hype, I'm thinking more along the lines of the cheerful little cards will colorful pictures and simple "Be Mine, Valentine" messages that elementary school children once exchanged.

Just simple connections, nothing fancy or expensive, could go a long way in making the world we live in a slightly less lonely place.

Mother's and Father's Day

Go to any bookstore, library or Internet search engine and you are likely to find a multitude of data on the influence that experts believe that parents have during all stages of their children's lives.

Experts tell us that infants must have adequate social and physical interaction with their parents in order to develop proper language and motor skills. We also learn that parents serve as role models that will impact a child's nutrition, exercise, reading and entertainment habits throughout life. And parents of teens can protect their children from unplanned pregnancies, depression and substance abuse and ensure that the children develop solid educational and career goals through the mere force of parental involvement.

With these responsibilities in addition to all the "regular" bread winning and care taking duties that parents undertake, Mother's Day and Father's Day celebrations just once a year don't seem like nearly enough. Hillary Clinton once quoted Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who said about the subject of raising children, "If you don't do that well, then nothing else that you do will matter very much."

Taking some time out of each day to honor these quiet heroes doesn't seem so unreasonable if we consider what's at stake.

A Time to Remember

In recent years Memorial Day seems to be hailed more as the official start of summer, marked by cookouts and the opening of the local swimming pool than as the reverent day of remembrance that marked it's beginnings during the time of the American Civil War.

But if Memorial Day could be returned to its roots; a day marked by quiet reflection to the live of the various champions, military and otherwise, who have impacted our lives for the better I think it is a holiday well worth celebrating every day.

Other cultures seem to do a much better job of remembering and honoring the past that we seem to do in the United States. For many Americans the motto regarding our history definitely seems to be "out with the old, in with the new."

But under Islam there is a belief that children have an obligation to complete any "unfinished business" that their deceased parents may have left behind and to befriend, honor and care for blood relatives and friends of deceased parents.

Respecting the memory of our loved ones by being of service to those who were closest to them in life seems a more fitting and lasting tribute and one that can be followed every day, not just to mark the official start of summer.

Independence Day

July 4th or Independence Day is another popular summertime holiday, but one in which I think that the original meaning may have been lost. I don't know that any of us can really relate to the idea of celebrating gaining our independence from Great Britain. When considering the British at I suspect most Americans know the country mainly as a source of juicy gossip about the Royal Family and of interesting rock and roll bands.

But if we think about the key word "independence" or better yet, "freedom", this is another holiday that doesn't have to be confined to barbeques and fireworks displays on July 4. Even in these trying economic times the United States is still a country where there is a great deal of freedom from want, freedom from hunger, and freedom from diseases that plague many of our Third World neighbors.

In our personal lives almost everyone has probably overcome some challenge and should therefore celebrate those freedoms as well, from addiction, depression, unhappy relationships, poverty, oppression and ignorance just to name a few.

With the rich blessings we enjoy how can celebrating these freedoms not become a daily event?

An Attitude of Gratitude

Thanksgiving is generally thought of today as the official "kick-off" of the holiday season; an excuse to overindulge at the table and watch football non-stop. Usually when we think about the history of the Thanksgiving holiday it is approached as a generous mixture of historical fact and romantic myth involving Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower, and a bountiful feast shared between the Pilgrims and their Native American neighbors.

However, it wasn't until President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation on October 3, 1863 that Thanksgiving was recognized for the first time on a national level. What is most interesting is that Lincoln's call for the nation to pause to express its gratitude for God's mercy cam in the midst of a bloody Civil War, when I would suspect that many Americans wondered what there was to be thankful about.

The same could be said of us today, with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and a faltering economy. But even in these trying times Americans would do well do remember that there is still much for which to be grateful. Pausing to recognize the joys of family and friends, good health, and freedom from government oppression might be just the approach needed to sustain us through difficult time. Focusing on what still is right with our circumstances each and every day, can offer us a most powerful preventative edge against disillusionment and despair.

Moving beyond the physical and material aspects of modern holidays and concentrating on the deeper, more spiritual meaning behind them may well provide a joy that will prove to be much more lasting and true.

References:

Arimi, Jiro. Honoring One's Ancestors Under Islam.

http://www.kosei-shuppan.co.jp/english/text/mag/2007/07_789_ 6.html

Lincoln, Abraham. Proclamation of Thanksgiving. Washington, D.C., October 3, 1863. http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm

Loneliness: Why It Has Become an Epidemic.

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/10-26-2005-79870.asp

Mishima , Shizuko. Obon in Japan. http://gojapan.about.com/cs/ja panesefestivals/a/obonfestival .htm