tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13713642.post2931721802381324542..comments2024-03-28T11:03:41.050-05:00Comments on Unlocked Wordhoard: Morning Medieval MiscellanyDr. Richard Scott Nokeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01348275071082514870noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13713642.post-11172860914672376172008-01-22T08:15:00.000-06:002008-01-22T08:15:00.000-06:00Some holidays seem to exist mostly to honor partic...<I>Some holidays seem to exist mostly to honor particular people or events, and aren't really celebrated much: President's Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, etc.</I><BR/><BR/>No celebration of Labor Day? The day when laborers celebrate not laboring? Always big in my family, it included croquet or badminton and picnics. Now (at least for me as an academic) it has the added poignancy of usually being the last piece of summer before teaching again, so it's full of wistfulness as well as potato salad.<BR/><BR/>And Columbus Day has long been replaced by Leif Ericsson for many of us!C. Margery Kempehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15910282257993793334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13713642.post-59069345418894184452008-01-21T21:13:00.000-06:002008-01-21T21:13:00.000-06:00Oh, there are lots, with varying degrees of celebr...Oh, there are lots, with varying degrees of celebration. For example, I've never celebrated Arbor Day, but I know the way one celebrates is to plant a tree.<BR/><BR/>Running quickly through the calendar, we celebrate, to a greater or lesser degree:<BR/>New Year's Day<BR/>Groundhog Day<BR/>St. Valentine's Day<BR/>St. Patrick's Day<BR/>Easter<BR/>April Fool's Day<BR/>Mothers' Day<BR/>Memorial Day<BR/>Fathers' Day<BR/>Independence Day<BR/>Halloween<BR/>Thanksgiving<BR/>Christmas<BR/><BR/>Of course, celebrations can be regional, or depend on other things. For example, Mardi Gras is more regional, and most of us celebrate Groundhog Day by paying close attention to the weather. When I was younger, we used to use Memorial Day to go place flowers on the grave of my grandfather, but now all the spouses of dead servicemen are dead themselves, so my family doesn't really celebrate that any more, but we probably will once again if (God forbid) we lose one of the younger generation to war.<BR/><BR/>Some holidays seem to exist mostly to honor particular people or events, and aren't really celebrated much: President's Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, etc.Dr. Richard Scott Nokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01348275071082514870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13713642.post-56942171548140790842008-01-21T14:16:00.000-06:002008-01-21T14:16:00.000-06:00I have a Canadian friend who loves to explain to A...I have a Canadian friend who loves to explain to Americans the "moose hatcheries" visible near major highways (They are storage domes for salt and sand.) <BR/><BR/>Then there's the Italian spaghetti tree festival.<BR/><BR/>More seriously what national holidays do Americans actually celebrate? I know lots of people who have family 4th of July picnics, and there are civic fireworks displays. Anything else?Steve Muhlbergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18136005762428407135noreply@blogger.com