HATING THE HOLIDAYS

It's the 8th of March. Women's day. A whole new blog post could be dedicated solely to debating whether, and to what extent, this holiday is 'sexist'.

As I brace myself for the inevitable tide of woman's day posts and counter posts, I am again agitated by the trivial attention people possess, be it hate or admiration, towards holidays and festivities.

New Years celebration haters. Birthday party apologists. Campaigners for Halloween and the Anti-Patron Saint Day League. Is it possible that eating, drinking or shopping for one day can cause such a schism in pop culture?

I've touched upon the sentimental value one can tie to religious or traditional celebration (see here), so allow me to elaborate: If one feels like celebrating, do it, without preaching your reasons to anyone else.

You think Woman's Day is sexist? Don't celebrate it. But know this - no one cares if you find it sexist. No one thinks your lackluster campaign against this insignificant holiday is anything but ranting and possibly an attempt to gain the favor of feminism-inclined women.

This can be applied to any holiday. Do not take away someone's need to give presents and/or eat inordinate amounts of food. You're not religious and are annoyed by Patron Saint days? Keep it to yourself.

The same goes for the flip side of the coin. Defending your right to dress up into a corpse filled fridge for Halloween is possibly one of the dumbest causes you can muster your forces around. If no one is hampering you in celebrating whatever menial little tradition you like to perform, I suggest you stop focusing on the bad rep your holiday of choice is getting and focus on simply celebrating it.

While lamenting the fact certain holidays have lost their original meaning, flare or significance is tempting - please refrain. What it all boils down in the end is your own personal need to do something on a certain day. It is not a big deal or a newsworthy issue, unless we are talking of some sort of serious religious practice. Don't defend it with blood and fire, but don't attack it either.

Happy just-another-day. I mean it, have a nice day.