holidaze (premature)

in case you haven't noticed, the 'holiday season' is upon us (at least according to wal-mart commercials, store displays, etc). though it has become somewhat needlessly protracted, i do really like this time of year. for this reason, i have been having an ongoing debate on the merits of various holidays.

one of my favorite websites, the online etymology dictionary, notes that the term 'holiday' quite obviously came from the old english words for 'holy' and 'day.' by the 14th century it meant both a 'religious festival' and 'day of recreation,' but its meaning had diverged even further from its origins by the 16th century.

today, i'm not exactly sure what 'holiday' really means. a day off work? a day to be with family? a day to 'get crunk'? there is a day for seemingly everything at this point, which begs the question, can every day really be a holiday? part of what i like about major holidays is that they are infrequent and break up the normal routine in some way, so i'm not so convinced.

some days, purportedly 'legit' holidays, are puzzling to me; rubber duckie day (january 13), middle name pride day (march 12), and national two different colored shoes day (may 3) all sound pretty awesome, but i don't really know much about what or why i would be celebrating. i mean, just this week, we will have to cram in homemade bread day (november 17), married to a scorpio day (not applicable, but november 18), and world toilet day (wtf, november 19). too much for me to handle right now. (btw, this website is a good source of random holidays if you are interested).

in spite of this confusion, i decided to make a list of my 10 favorite holidays of all time. a forewarning: these choices have obviously been influenced by my american and christian upbringing, so your favorite holiday may not be listed. apologies.

10. valentine's day: i literally like this day only because there is an off chance i will eat candy from a heart-shaped box/receive a card from my mother with $20 inside.

9. st. patrick's day: i haven't done much in the way of celebrating this day, but i like ireland and i like the color green. i also find the concept of putting food coloring in beer to be very intriguing.

8. groundhog day: who doesn't love a large, sagacious rodent who provides weather forecasts?

7. memorial day: the unofficial start of summer pretty much unfailingly equates to seashores, sunshine, and relaxation, and with those elements, i can take no issue.

6. easter: we still have easter egg hunts every year, and the easter bunny still leaves reese's cups, a yo-yo, and the occasional new pair of flip flops in my yellow easter basket. so that's good. this holiday also gets points for signaling the start of spring.

5. 4th of july/my birthday: not really the same day, but close enough for this list. this day was pretty lame to me when i was younger because everyone was out of town, meaning i had to throw bday parties in may or june (once in april), but now i realize it is pretty chill to combine national holiday/birthday celebrations if you plan correctly. as a lover of both fireworks and attention, i find the beginning of july to be particularly exciting.

4. thanksgiving: i like the way peoples' homes smell at thanksgiving, namely of delicious food being cooked. i also like any day that includes the opportunity to over-eat comforting food, watch football, nap, then over-eat leftovers.

3. new years: usually debaucherous, occasionally celebrated in interesting locales, always a good time. there's a great deal of anticipation and it's a nice time to get together with old friends. and as may be apparent already, i like counting backwards from 10.

2. halloween: this holiday has changed a great deal from my 'dressing-as-batman-and-knocking-on-neighbors'-doors-and-hoping-to-get-a-regular-sized-(and-not-fun-sized)-snicker-bar' days, but it's still a great excuse to dress up, hang with friends, decorate a house in cobwebs, and dance to 'thriller.'

1. christmas: kind of an obvious choice, i know. much different than any other holiday, christmas for my family is reduced to a clockwork ritual from about 3:00 pm christmas eve until 11:00 pm christmas day, and i wouldn't change any of it. great food (holla at a chick-fil-a party tray), great drinks (brandy alexanders), great company (lots of cousins), and tons of decorations up in the house. plus there's 'a christmas story' on tv, the smell of a live tree in my living room, and of course, presents. in spite of having 'a kenny g christmas' playing on repeat from sun up to sun down, it really is the best day of the year.