Holidays
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »October Holidays: Columbus Go Home!
[ 3 Comments ]Posted on October 7, 2009 by admin in Holidays
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009How can we celebrate International Newspaper Carrier Day if there are no newspapers to tell us about it? And a quick explanation of why we’re starting a campaign to replace Columbus Day with Leif Erikson Day.
We wanted to tell you about the Newspaper Association of America’s International Newspaper Carrier Day, which is supposed to be celebrated on October 10, but as you’ll learn if you click that link, the “Full text of this content is available to subscribers only“. I’m personally not going to fuss about it, because as is more often becoming the case, my town doesn’t even have a newspaper. What I will fuss about though, is this character Christopher Columbus. I’m on a personal mission to have his holiday replaced with Leif Erikson Day for two simple reasons: 1.) Leif was here first, by 500 years, and 2.) He went home without making a big mess like Columbus did. As we all now know, the whitewashing of Columbus’ life we received as kids in America was bunk; he was brutal when in power, and messianically delusional later in life. I’m kind of joking (at least in terms of my personal activism on the issue) but this is a serious topic; as the people of the Transform Columbus Day Alliance point out, “Columbus Day is an inherently racist statement of cultural domination“, and Columbus was a “slave trader whose legacy is steeped in blood, violence, and death“. I’d like to add that his movie
Getting Men Involved In Breast Cancer Awareness Month: SAVE THE BOOBS!
[ Comments Off ]Posted on October 2, 2009 by admin in Holidays
Friday, October 2nd, 2009Generally, men are more concerned with women’s breasts than anybody else, so a Canadian non-profit is calling them out on it.
 This is not a gratuitous use of breast imagery. Watch the video below. |
Who couldn’t love breasts? They’re beautiful, functional, and plentiful (if you count manboobs, more than half the human race has them). That’s why we should all do our part to (ahem) support Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Canadian organization Rethink Breast Cancer is taking the mildly edgy approach of finally calling men out on this one. Men: if you love breasts so much, Save The Boobs! While cancer is no laughing matter, it’s nice to see there are people out there who can care with a sense of humor. On a more serious note though, when you make decisions about exactly how to support breast cancer treatment and awareness, remember that simply buying pink breast cancer awareness products
Argh Vey! Talk Like A Jewish Pirate & Other September Holidays
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on September 19, 2009 by admin in Holidays
Saturday, September 19th, 2009It’s probably going to be a long time before Talk Like a Pirate Day and Rosh Hashanah coincide, so let’s talk for a moment about Jewish booty.
If I were an idiot savant, I’d tell you when Rosh Hashanah and Talk Like a Pirate Day will coincide again. But I’m not, so I won’t. But I will suggest that this rare event may be a good time to place your advance order for the book Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean: How a Generation of Swashbuckling Jews Carved Out an Empire in the New World in Their Quest for Treasure, Religious Freedom–and Revenge
September Holidays: How Come On Labor Day, You Don’t?
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on September 1, 2009 by admin in Holidays
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009And…everybody loves National Chicken Month. Except the chickens.
|
|
| National Chicken Month, The Way A Chicken Would Prefer To Celebrate It |
As I’m sure you all know, September is Baby Safety Month. Unless of course you’re a baby chicken, because it’s also National Chicken Month, and as far as I can tell, it seems the only way people know of to celebrate a chicken is to eat it. September holidays are rife with contradictions like this. On Labor Day you don’t, and September 11 is not only Make Your Bed Day, it’s also And Lay Down In It Day as well. Writing about International Literacy Day clearly presents another intrinsic problem a problem thats pardon the pun punctuated by National Punctuation Day which is on September 24 2009 National Punctuation Day reminds us that without proper punctuation reading becomes rather difficult to say the least. Continuing the contradictory nature of September holidays, please note that Citizenship Day and Native American Day highlight a pretty significant difference of opinion about who the residents of America are. They’re more than a week apart. We’ll be back to touch on other important holidays later in the month, with a more serious, respectful look at sacred traditions like Rosh Hashanah, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Talk Like a Pirate Day. Argh.
August Holidays: A Time To Honor Clowns, Friends, and Breasts
[ 2 Comments ]Posted on August 1, 2009 by admin in Holidays
Saturday, August 1st, 2009Well, maybe not all at the same time.
 Even John Wayne Gacy Loves Clown Week! |
It’s somehow fitting that it was the U.S. Congress and Richard Nixon that were responsible for authorizing National Clown Week. It’s also not surprising that the entire Clown Week site is presented in Comic Sans. August is a little light on holidays steeped in deeper tradition, so be careful not to get confused that Friendship Day coincides with Clown Week and World Breastfeeding Week. Things could get peculiar. If you do happen to commit a serious faux pas because of this, you won’t have much time to remedy things; International Forgiveness Day is also on August 2. On a more serious note, Ramadan begins on August 22, so try to be a little respectful of your Muslim friends that observe the month of Ramadan in a more traditional fashion; when was the last time you fasted between sunrise and sunset for a month? Otherwise, aside from a lot of “Hallmark Holidays” and peculiarities like Lefthanders Day or National Underwear Day, August is marked only by a couple of tragic observances like Hiroshima Day and the creation of federal taxes.