If you could eliminate one holiday...

[-..__...]

which one would it be (for whatever reason)?

Doesn't really matter if it's an observed, local, state or national holiday (I just listed the better known ones).

[kentuck]

1. Where's Easter ?

and bunny rabbits and Easter egg hunts and Jesus on the cross?

[Toots]

2. Is Easter a holiday?

It always falls on a Sunday.:shrug:

[-..__...]

12. I guess that would be "other".

I didn't include religious holidays (and lets face it... Christmas ceased being a true religious holiday ages ago). Too many to list and for the most part, they only pertain to the people whom are part of that religion.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Christmas. It gets in the way of a proper Yule celebration.

[senseandsensibility]

4. Columbus Day

Easy one, for me.

[Toots]

5. IMO Columbus Day has to be number one on the list

How could we possibly celebrate someone discovering a land that was inhabited by fifty million people? I would venture to say very few Native Americans celebrate that day.....The religious ones like Thanksgiving and Christmas I say "for the kids"

[porphyrian]

6. Why would anyone in their right mind eliminate a holiday?

If you don't like it, start your own holiday countering it, put it on a different day, and then it will benefit us all. Eliminating a holiday punishes everyone who works for a living.

[stepnw1f]

8. So The Right Wing can Say

"See.... them libruls hate x-mas afterall."

Why would anyone get rid of any Holiday?

[Vidar]

14. Just a fantasy It's not like any of us has the power to abolish a

holiday. I actually did substitute the Saturnalia for Christmas several years, so as not to "grinch-out" my celebratory friends.

[porphyrian]

22. I'm just trying to be practical. We should have a holiday month. At least.

And, actually, we DO have the power to eliminate holidays, or create them. We can contact our representatives in Congress and convince them to represent us in eliminating or creating a holiday. That's how it's supposed to work, anyway.

[fishwax]

17. not everyone who works for a living gets any of those days off anyway

and few get all of them off. And since the poll, I assume, isn't really equivalent to "what day off work would you eliminate," perhaps we can stipulate, for the purposes of this poll, that as compensation for the eliminated holiday all employees will get one flexible day of personal leave.

[porphyrian]

24. You say that like it's acceptable or inevitable.

How much of your life is yours?

I still have no intention of ever eliminating a holiday.

[fishwax]

29. I just didn't take the question as having anything to do with work

but rather what we celebrate that we ought not.

And if I did get Columbus Day off (which I don't), I would gladly trade getting that day off for getting a personal holiday to use at any time of my choosing. This would somehow make less of my life my own? :shrug:

[-..__...]

40. Correct.

Actually, when I posted the question, work/employment/pay didn't even figure into the equation.

It was more or less a random curiosity question that came to mind when I read a few posts griping about Thanksgiving. IOW... what holiday do you hate, irks you, find pointless or meaningless, overblown, etc.

[Mr_Spock]

42. I am shocked at the shallow-minded selfishness of those

who can only relate this question to the days they get off work :eyes: I wanted to beleive it was a joke, but a half-dozen or so have said the same thing :eyes: It's a rhetorical question people!!! :eyes: I agree with you is what I'm sayin' :D

[porphyrian]

52. My point is that, for many people, holidays have little to do with celebration.

What is celebratory about looking forward to working on a holiday, because that is how bad your financial reality is - that the honor of being allowed to work on a holiday, a day people take off to celebrate, because the company dangles an extra half-carrot in front of you. Who owns the majority of that person's life?

[Zhade]

73. But Christmas being a federal holiday is a violation of the separation of church and state.

NT!

[Vorta]

78. No it isn't. nt

[Zhade]

87. Explain to me how having a federal Christian holiday isn't an endorsement of Christianity.

This spin ought to be hilarious.

[Vorta]

93. It's an artifact.

Federal offices are closed on every Sunday of the year. Originally this was because religion dictates a day of rest. Now it's a custom. We use a Christian calendar as well. There are two other major calendars out there that we could choose to use, but both of those are also religious artifacts and thing work a lot better if everyone is using the same calendar. It's an artifact.

So was it hilarious?

[porphyrian]

86. I don't mind calling it "Winter Holiday." - n/t

[Zhade]

88. That's a fine compromise.

I wouldn't mind calling Thanksgiving "Harvest Holiday" or whatever, either.

[-..__...]

21. That could be done.

As far as workers are concenred... are all the holidays listed "paid" holidays; regardless of whether or not people work those days or their workplace is closed?

Some people would gladly work those days for the holiday pay. However, if their workplace is closed for the day, that's one less day that they get paid for.

[porphyrian]

27. People shouldn't feel glad to work holidays.

That's a reprehensible corporate construct that most people have been hypnotized into accepting. No one in this country should have to want to work holidays to make enough money. There's no excuse with the amount of wealth here.

[mondo joe]

33. Im holding out for the War on Mother's Day, myself. nt

[hfojvt]

79. eliminate the stupid rituals

not the day off of work.
The trees, the turkey, the lights, the hype, the stress, the travel in winter, the explosions, the jingoism, the reminders that you live alone, etc.
And the TV just now reminds me - the motherfu$%ing music!!

[porphyrian]

84. It's because the ones that stick in your head are the best marketing tools.

Everything is a commercial. Most TV shows are actually commercials for commercials, and so on. Celebrities are product. Products are product. The celebration of Super Bowl commercials is a commercial for commercialists of commercials. And nothing can nail a product to the inside of your brain like a catchy tune you've been bombarded with since birth.

[Selatius]

7. Watch, FOX News is gonna cite this thread as proof positive of the "War on Christmas"

Personally, I find Columbus Day to be the first that should be axed.

[lpbk2713]

9. Halloween

The kids would miss it but parents are becoming more skeptical about what strangers give their kids in the form of 'treats'.

[JVS]

18. Yeah, that holidays sucks. No time off of work and kids demanding candy

Fuck that bullshit. The only good part is that a lot of women hear "Haloween Party" as "Dress like a whore party" which is pretty cool

[mondo joe]

65. KIDS demanding candy? KIDS?

Dude, do not limit your opportunities!

[baldguy]

10. Patriot Day

Tthat is the RW hate-fest that originated as a remembrence of 9/11. Not the anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution.

[JVS]

11. We need more holidays, we're way behind Europe on paid holidays

[porphyrian]

13. Exactly. How many days of your life do you already give to your job(s)? - n/t

[JVS]

16. Ummm, since I'm sitting here entering grades as we speak....

TOO FUCKING MANY.

But I will personally hunt down and KILL whomever gets rid of the thanksgiving break. Not having to teach is like a week long orgasm!

[kevinbgoode]

25. I agree with that!

Even if we spend most of the week trying to catch up on cleaning our home, running the errands, and catching up with the grades. And I'm still behind as I write this. . .:-(

[livvy]

15. My birthday....

I'm getting too old to fully appreciate it! Plus that way, no one would lose a day of vacation.



Happy Turkey Day, everyone!


Actually, I've never liked Columbus Day, but it does give a lot of people a day of rest or recreation.

[kenny blankenship]

19. Ass Waxing Day

Man I HATE that day!

[Moochy]

77. A Brazillion Wax ?

Donald Rumsfeld briefed the president this morning. He told Bush that 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed in Iraq. To everyone’s amazement, all the color ran from Bush’s face, then he collapsed onto his desk,head in hands,visibly shaken,almost whimpering. finally,he composed himself and asked Rumsfeld “Just exactly how many is a brazillion?”

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

115. That depends heavily upon wheter you're the waxer or the waxee.

Who waxes the waxers?

[xchrom]

20. none

[kevinbgoode]

23. "Christmas". . .I'm tired of being told how to celebrate

it - and also tired of having con-servative "Christians" dictate the terms of the celebration. If they have to make it all about some cultural war, I'd rather dump the day altogether. They aren't happy with the fact that businesses and schools are closed in order to honor their special day - if we could return Christmas back to the time when the "spirit" of the holiday was left to the beliefs of participants, it means something to everyone.

However, when con-servative correctness dictates that everyone must honor the white baby Jesus' designated birth date (and the baby MUST be white) and pay homage to it everywhere without deviation (deviation is immoral and thus should be censored), then I'm over any idea of celebration. Ditto for the rude behavior in the stores as shoppers ransack displays fighting each other over grabbing the best "gifts," the indoctrination of children into gauging their worth on the amount and number and quality of toys they receive, and the attacks on those who are alone or single as to be pitied for not being able to participate in the "family" celebration.

[eleny]

26. That sums it up for me

I'm tired of the whining about not have a conservative "PC" celebration.

And have you noticed that the whining is starting earlier each year? They don't even wait until after Thanksgiving. :rofl:

[mondo joe]

43. What makes that any different? Every holiday is frought with people telling

others how they SHOULD be celebrating.

Blecch.

[brentspeak]

68. What's the baby supposed to be? Oriental?

Purple? Rainbow-colored?

[Zhade]

74. Um, 'oriental' is no longer the accepted term.

It's considered a bit offensive, actually.

[earth mom]

96. self delete

[Lone_Star_Dem]

28. Why would we want to eliminate any paid holiday?

It's up to us how we celebrate them or if we do at all. I fail to see why anyone would get behind eliminating any of them, however. Well, unless you represent a corporation and you were looking out for your financial better interest.


Happy Tofurky Day from my family to yours! :)

[Richard D]

30. Politically - Columbus day . . .

. . . but for pure waste of millions upon millions of trees for paper for wrapping presents, hundreds of millions more killed just to look pretty in some living room; the tawdry displays in stores, and the bloody music that is inescapable unless you pour molten wax in your ears for two months . . . bah humbug!

[sk8tenn]

31. You don't get a day off, but it would be a boon to lots of people

if we could just get rid of Valentine's Day!

[mondo joe]

32. I want MORE holidays, not less.

[Nikki Stone1]

36. YES! More Holidays! (I want a day off for National Soup Month)

:)

[mondo joe]

38. Only one day for Soup MONTH? Are you some sort of slavedriver?

Soup MONTH needs a MONTH off!

Or at least a month of long weekends.

[Nikki Stone1]

53. A month to eat frigging soup? There should be some kind of National Contraception Month?

Now there's a product I could use for a month. :)

[mondo joe]

54. That is just an expression of institutionalized homophobia.

I already have the perfect contraception by being gay.

I'm sticking with Soup Month! One week for noodle soups, one week for chowders...

[Nikki Stone1]

58. Not touchin' that with a 10 foot pole. :)

I'll leave you to your soup.

[mondo joe]

63. That 10 foot pole is my Festivus stick!

;-)

[Nikki Stone1]

64. Call it what you like, young man.

It just means yer up ta no good! :D

[BlueStorm]

80. Nikki, when I read your subject line I thought you said "National

SoapMonth. LOL!! Could there be such a holiday? Celebrating the different types of soaps in the world.


Blue

[Nikki Stone1]

100. We could combine with National Washcloth Month.

It would be a very clean month. :D

[BlueStorm]

111. Yep!!! That's the spirit!!! n/t

[JVS]

44. Fuck yeah! I demand the following holidays be made official

St. Patrick's day

St. Boniface's day (German version of St. Patrick)

May 1st

Superbowl Monday (gotta sleep off the hangovers)

Dingus Day

Passover

Victory Day (May 8th)

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Additionally: Every holiday has to have the Eastern Orthodox equivalent 13 days later than the regular observation. This will provide an opportunity for the poorer among us to shop at sales and if we had a bad holiday we get a do-over

[Nikki Stone1]

56. Yeah, I can just see those "St. Boniface days at your local Subaru dealer".

Cars come with a rebate and free relic.

[JVS]

57. Don't forget the big mug of beer!

[Nikki Stone1]

59. That would really tweak Mothers Against Drunk Driving. :)

:toast:

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

94. And Pancake Day!

I don't think there is an official Pancake Day...some friends of mine used to celebrate it the day after Christmas, but really any day could be Pancake Day.

It could even be a floating holiday, like those personal days some companies offer. "I won't be in Monday, I'm taking a Pancake Day." Sounds great! :9

[JVS]

102. Yes, pancake day!

[Mr_Spock]

46. It's called a rhetorical question

for discussion - lol

[Nikki Stone1]

62. My answer follows the rules of rhetoric! (At least it's spelled more of less correctly)

So what do you think of National Soup Month?

[donsu]

34. Easter and easter baskets, bunnies, eggs

nt

[Kelly Rupert]

35. 25% OF ALL LIBRULS WANT TO KILL CHRISTMAS THE WAR IS REAL

}(

[Mr_Spock]

41. I was thinking the same thing

I like Christmas - so do my Jewish family members. It's fun celebrating an old Pagan holiday & pretending an old fat Finn in a red suit is giving out gifts while magically sliding through small spaces.

[Book Lover]

37. We need more, not less!

The only change I would make is to add a day in late June to celebrate Dante's birthday, and let Columbus Day be supplanted by a First Peoples' Day.

[mondo joe]

39. I am beginning my plans for the War on Mother's Day.

[Nikki Stone1]

60. Paging Dr. Freud.

:rofl:

[LeftishBrit]

45. My birthday!

I'm a birthday-phobic; and never tell anyone when it is.

For the rest, I would like not to abolish Christmas, but to keep it for Christmas. No carols in shops in November, pullease!!!

[billbuckhead]

51. Super Bowl Sunday, everything bad about America literally on steroids

The holiday we should have is election day.

[The Anti-Neo Con]

47. Christmas...not the holiday, but the mindless consumerism.

My vote was for Christmas, but I don't want to see the religious part of the holiday eliminated because it's very important to some people. It would be great if we could eliminate the materialism and shop till you drop (or max out all the credit cards) element.

[mondo joe]

48. Hey, that consumerism is my celebration. Fuck the religious aspect.

Giftmas is the reason for the season.

[sweetheart]

49. screw 'eliminate' *CREATE* 10 paid holidays

1. Slavery Abolition Day
2. Womens rights Day
3. Sexual freedom day
4. Summer solstice
5. Winter solstice
6. Fall equinoxe
7. Spring equinoxe
8. Power Off day (holiday with *no* streetlighting for astronomy)
9. Solidarity in justice day
10.Earth Day

[Mojambo]

50. Valentines Day, Definitely. n/t

[crispini]

55. Valentine's Day

V-Day, you are TOAST.

[Fox Mulder]

61. Definitely Columbus Day.

[terrya]

71. Agreed. Celebrating a man who brought genocide to the New World...

is more than a bit too much. It's a goddamned travesty.

[MercutioATC]

66. Hey! I need those federal holidays!

That's double time!


...my bank account aside, Columbus Day.

[Raine]

67. Columbus Day

no doubt about it. x(

[upi402]

69. yup, war on Xmas

:popcorn:

[hsher]

70. VALENTINE'S DAY

Attack on singles

[Zhade]

72. Can't answer, since you say specifics don't matter.

For instance, I have zero desire to get rid of Christmas, EXCEPT as a federal holiday, which violates the first amendment.

Same with any other religious federal holiday; fine for believers, not fine as a government-endorsed holiday.

[Cleita]

75. None, but I might change the names.

Like calling Thanksgiving a harvest festival and Christmas, the Winter Solstice, etc..

[cadmium]

76. Can't do it on principle. I believe we need more holidays.

I dont think we have enough holidays

April Fools Day. Not a trick-a real holday - with Monday holiday if it falls on a weekend.

[mykpart]

81. What we need are MORE holidays that you get the day off from work

and then eliminate all the holidays where you have to go to work anyway. Like Valentine's Day.

[Jamastiene]

82. Simple. None.

Why? Because I like holidays and day off from outside obligations. Happy Holidays.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

83. I Say Thanksgiving Hands Down.

It's the only one of the group that I'm obligated to go to my in-laws, but don't have that pain eased by at least getting presents out of it. So instead, it's just one big waste of a vacation day that entails wanting to take a nap when you can't, wanting to crap on your own toilet but you can't, wanting to enjoy the football game but you can't, and ending it with a big ole stomach ache.

I mean, I have to go through that on Christmas too, but at least I get presents ya know? :)

[flying_monkeys]

85. You forgot Veteran's Day.

Not that I propose eliminating it - - Just commenting.


Personally, I would ditch Good Friday, since that is a day many get off but not everyone observes (I live in the South and it is usually a day off in absence of Easter Monday - - but hey, Easter is always on a Sunday so why does it need to be a 3 day weekend? Move that 3 day weekend to something like Mid April when the weather is nice many places and we can all use it as a steady time, not a fluctuating "depending on the Church calendar" holiday....)

[tinfoilinfor2005]

89. None. But I'd try spread them out over two years.

They just come around too quickly anymore and sometimes they lose their importance. I didn't feel that way when I was a kid, though. It seemed like it took forever to go from one holiday to another. But then again, I didn't have to worry about cooking and decorating and buying and wrapping presents!

[superconnected]

90. I'm the only one who voted 4th of july

really I hate what fireworks does to animals.

[InvisibleTouch]

91. Other: Valentine's Day

I always thought it was a big joke. On the other hand, I'd miss the laughs, so ... never mind. :)

[Initech]

92. I'd keep Christmas. I would just get rid of the commercialization of it.

Honestly, the commercialization this year has made me sick of the holiday.

[Cobalt Violet]

95. All of the above.

Aren't they all just shopping days now?

But I really voted for Xmas as that if by far the worst.

[earth mom]

97. Christmas is becoming meaningless...

Christmas has lost all meaning when shoppers trample and fight over merchandise on a shelf that is or will be available 11 other months of the year. I'm sick of the rampant greed-as exhibited and mightily defended here on DU-as was seen with the PS 3 release. I'm sick of how the corporate media force feeds greedy materialism down all our throats while so many people in this country are doing without and don't have a roof over their head or food on the table. I'm sick of the fake goodwill toward man-the so called "Christmas Spirit" that only exists in movies like It's a Wonderful Life or Scrooge. I'm sick of the planet being plundered of all it's resources just to serve the rampant materialism that never ever ends.

If I didn't have a kid who still believes in Santa Claus, I would have thrown the towel in on Christmas years ago. But yeah, I'm a slave to it too, though not to the extent that others are-I flat out refuse to go there. This will be the first Christmas in a long time that my husband and I are able to give each other more than one $20 gift. But you know what? Last night at dinner, instead of looking forward to all the great gifts we're planning on giving each other-books for me, fishing gear for him-we started talking about how maybe we didn't need much of anything this Christmas after all. We feel lucky with what we have. Food on the table, roof over our heads and the love of our little family. That should be more than enough for anyone.

[mondo joe]

99. Depends on what you think the meaning is.

I'm doing fine with it.

[Nobody]

98. I declare war on the Season of Greed!

Today, all the retailers are whining that they aren't getting enough shoppers. People haven't had raises keep up with rising costs of living, net household income is going down and still we are expected to spend spend spend and buy buy buy.

The cannon has gone off for the Annual Prop Up The Economy Month. Get your ass out there and shopping already! Cram yourselves into the malls just in time for cold and flu season. Come on, give a little!

The Season of Greed is beginning earlier and earlier each year. This year, I saw a well-known grocery store displaying a X-mas tree with faky wrapped gifts, advertisments for ornaments and Xmas cards and other specific to the holiday stuff. This was in mid-October. We hadn't even gotten to Halloween yet.

I would have no problem with the Season of Greed if I could opt out. But I've tried opting out and failed. Too many family expectations and accusations of selfishness. I just want to be able to pay my bills.

[Limelight]

101. Interesting...

A site chocked to the brim with Progressives, yet 7% of the vote is for eliminating the Martin Luther King holiday. Guess it ain't nearly as progressive as I thought.x(

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

103. Bah! Humbug!! Scrooge was right.

[LWolf]

104. Other:

If I could just eliminate one holiday, it would be Valentine's Day. The ugliest day of the year for me, for reasons that I won't go into here, and I have to spend every damned Valentine's Day at work surrounded by kids who want me to "celebrate" it.

If we could eliminate all holidays from public schools, and allow them to be appropriately celebrated at home, I might make a different choice. First of all, I would joyfully leave the demand for holiday parties, dress-ups, crafts, and such in my classroom behind. I'd rather focus on the reason I'm there, which is to develop literacy, numeracy, thinking skills, study habits, etc.. and leave cultural or commercial celebrations to the family at home.

If that happy day were to come, and I could eliminate just one holiday? I'm not sure. I'd like to move Thanksgiving. I don't like when it happens. If we moved it to the last week of October, it wouldn't be so close to Xmas, and we could sort of combine TXgiving and halloween into a combined harvest celebration to be observed according to the many rich traditions of various groups.

Then I'd move xmas to the solstice, where it belongs, and broaden it to include all traditional celebrations at this time. I'd also move the calendar, so that the new year actually started at the new year; the day after the solstice.

One spring celebration, at the equinox; easter, st. patty's ostara, whatever.

How about moving election day to veteran's day, or veteran's day to election day, or president's day to election day, so that election day was a national holiday? Move president's day to election day, and veteran's day to memorial day. Good combinations.

How about combining MLK "civil rights day" with 4th of July, and celebrating the constitution as well as the war?

So far, I haven't eliminated any holidays. Just restructured them. I'm toying with mom's, dad's, and grandparent's days, which seem like a commercial manipulation of the population to me. Shouldn't we honor our parents and elders everyday, as an integral part of the culture? If our culture doesn't honor elders, and it doesn't, why the hell do we have to pretend with fake holidays?

But still, Valentine's Day seems to me to be the most likely to go. How ridiculous can you get? A pagan Roman holiday (Lupercalia) that included temporary pairings of young people, given a Saint by the Roman Catholic Church to christianize it, it has the most twisted and improbably history, imo. Can't romance be celebrated at any day of the year? I can remember clearly, from my years out in the world of relationships, that I loved getting flowers or being treated as special any day of the year. I also remember that the men in my life seemed to enjoy surprising me, but resented feeling obligated on feb. 14. :shrug: If it's just one, I think Valentine's day still has to go.

[Dulcinea]

105. I say keep 'em all.

But make it a federal offense to market ANYTHING to do with Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving, & move MLK Day to August. Who the hell wants a day off in January?

[bigriver]

106. Fuck Christmas!

Why should a Jew, a Hindu or a Muslim celebrate a Christian holiday? All other public holidays at least have secular, historical reasons to them.

[kevinbgoode]

113. They better act like they are gonna celebrate it. . .

or they won't be allowed to any of the special "christian-only holy day" discounts at the AFA-approved department stores.

[evilgenius602]

107. in Fairbanks Alaska, ever year they would post a banner

over the bridge on the main drag in town that read, and I quote "April is Sexual Assault Month". I think May should be Accurate Grammar in Banners Month.

[elehhhhna]

108. Stupid effing 9/11 "Patriots Day". Can it, asap.

[jonnyblitz]

109. XMAS for sure.

[Vinca]

110. Christmas is by far the worst holiday.

It's not just that I'm an atheist - I actually like Christmas trees, wreaths and decorated cookies - it's the pervasive atmosphere of greed. Stuff. More stuff. Spend, spend, spend. Run up the charge card. Trample the other sheeple at the discount store door at 5 a.m. Gotta have the (fill in blank) at all cost - $20,000 for a Playstation on ebay. It's disgusting to me. Then there are the "do gooders" who are almost as bad. They appear once a year to dish up a plate of food to homeless people and get all warm and fuzzy about "doing their share." Same time next year.

[Marie26]

112. None. I like my days off.

If anything, there should be MORE holidays!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

114. I hereby urge that one of the 14 who voted MLK day come here

and explain your rationale.