Holidays

MLK Day is officially tomorrow. It is really today, January 19. We keep moving holidays to the work week so people can get a day off. Is the purpose of a holiday a day off work or to honor someone or something? We should be honoring what Martin Luther King did for the civil rights movement in the USA. Just as we should be honoring those that died serving the country on Memorial Day. Or honoring all those that work on Labor Day. We used to observe both Lincoln’s birthday and Washington’s birthday in February. We now have one day we honor all former US presidents. Are we honoring them or just getting a day off work or having a chance to increase retail sales for a made-up holiday? These holidays are kind of like Valentine's Day. Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to sell greeting cards, candy, and jewelry. It is not a day we should celebrate, totally unlike St. Patricks Day.

St. Paddy’s day is an important event. We celebrate the driving of snakes out of Ireland and the drinking of good beer. What could be more important than that? It is so important that most universities schedule spring break over St. Patrick’s Day. When I was at Miami University (Ohio), the students had a special day, which was the week before Spring Break, so that they did not miss obligatory drinking during St. Paddy’s Day. Bars even got an exemption to open at 7am the Thursday before St. Pat’s so no one would miss the opportunity to overindulge. How better to demonstrate the importance of that day!