By Abigail Shaha
Happy belated St. Patrick?s Day. Hopefully you enjoyed all the green, all the pinching and the few completely decked-out, ultra-enthusiastic observers. Your Irish appreciation should be a little stronger, especially if you kissed someone Irish.
If you missed St. Patrick?s Day, or need another boost to liven your life, how about Near Miss Day on March 23. Near Miss Day commemorates March 23, 1989, when an asteroid passed within 400,000 miles of Earth (a near miss in space terms). Had it arrived only six hours earlier, it would have hit Earth head-on and put the atom bomb to shame. Great reason to celebrate.
Or, you could celebrate National Doctor?s Day on March 30. That day began when Eudora Brown Almond decided doctors, like her husband, deserved a day of recognition. Congressional legislation made the day official in 1990. So instead of filing a malpractice lawsuit, tell your doctor thanks.
The list of smaller holidays goes on and on, and has a surprisingly large following. You might be shocked at the number of people who observe International Talk Like a Pirate Day on August 19 (even Google has a celebratory homepage design for that day). Cinco de Mayo also has a loyal U.S. following despite the fact that it?s not a nationwide celebration in Mexico. Sometimes, little holidays like these are much-needed breaks from the ordinary. They can be a small vacation from real life, a push through a dull week or just an extra reason to smile and skip.
On the other hand, how many people actually observe Memorial Day by placing flowers on the graves of loved ones lost or by honoring those who died for our nation? What about Martin Luther King Jr. Day? Do as many people go out and promote unity and service on that day as wear green and pinch people on March 17? And flag day. Does anyone cover their yard with flags as enthusiastically as they heart-attack neighbors on Valentines Day?
Usually, those days aren?t as easy to honor. Some of those holidays are a federally recognized day off work. That?s an even better break from life than a mock holiday. But sleeping in and going to a movie on Veterans Day might not be the best way to appreciate our Veterans, and is a pretty meager holiday effort compared to the weeks people spend planning their Halloween costumes.
But aside from that, let?s face it ? throwing a birthday party for a dead guy like George Washington just isn?t as fun as speculating the weather while the groundhog emerges. Maybe it?s not, but besides a break from real life, the real purpose of little holidays is to commemorate something important. Surely a moment for one of our nation?s founders is more important than a moment for a sleepy rodent to surface and look for his shadow (if he even knows what that is). Fanfare is very possible for all holidays; you can paint your face like an American flag for Flag Day or watch the ?I have a dream? speech and march on your local mall on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Just make sure you put as much thought into remembering the sacrifices of others on Memorial Day as you do into making resolutions on New Years Day.
Kudos to holiday cheer. Obviously it?s going to be more fun and easy to celebrate holidays like Christmas than Columbus Day. But make sure you pump as much energy into meaningful days like Veterans Day as you do into more trivial holidays like St. Patrick?s Day (I can say that day is trivial because I?m Irish ? don?t kiss me). They both give a break from real life, and a chance to make a seemingly ordinary day extraordinary. If you?re only going to be zealous for the light holidays and shirk the deeper ones, shirk them all. If you can observe Waffle Day on August 25, surely you can put out a flag on Flag Day.
Abigail Shaha is an Issues & Ideas Editor at The Daily Universe.