Monday, October 10, 2011

I don't want to lose a government holiday but...

...I don't get Columbus Day.

I'm not anti-holiday...

...and sure...I love a day when I don't have to walk allllllll thhhhhe waaaaay to my mail box to see if I have received my 235th Oriental Trading catalog of 2011, but...

I don't get it.

Did he even actually discover America first?

And...

I've read that Columbus was a pretty bad guy.

Didn't he like do a lot of bad things to a lot of Native American people in the name of Christianity?

And didn't...

...well...you get my point.

Columbus Day just feels like a weird thing to me...


It seems like maybe we should make this an arbitrary holiday...

Like...

If you dig Columbus than it could be Columbus Day for you.

If I want to mourn the passing of Steven Jobs (talk about someone that changed the world we live in!)then it could be Steven Jobs day for me...


...or perhaps on particularly shallow years I could celebrate Hershey kisses day...


I mean, seriously, do you know how many flavors of Hershey kisses there are now? Yum! Oh!

It's not that I have anything against Columbus, personally...

I'm just not exactly sure why we have this holiday.

Anyway...

Don't mind me.

I'm just full of all kind of deep thoughts this morning.

Or full of something anyway.

Sigh...

post signature

31 comments:

Jojo said...

Seriously....you are right! My office is open but some of our offices are closed because Columbus Day is a "big" holiday for their part of the country. MLK Day is big here in Atlanta but my girlfriend in the Pacific Northwest thinks that's an odd one. Maybe we have one special day called Celebration Day and we celebrate Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, Columbus and more.

Paula ~ castleandcottagesigns said...

Really!....I like the idea of 'celebrate your favorite person/hero' day! I'd celebrate hmmm....I don't know who! Wait, probably Mother Theresa..yup, I'd have 'Mother Theresa Day'! :)

LuLu Kellogg said...

I don't get it either *shrug*

I am all for celebrating something else too!!

Love,
LuLu~*xoxo

Keetha Broyles said...

Well we never got out of school for it when I was teaching so it must not count for much! :-)

Unknown said...

We are celebrating so I could have a boat themed Muffin Tin Meal today!

Anonymous said...

I'm all for Hershey Kiss Day...
Living about 40 miles from there,
why didn't I think of that???
Tomorrow is Hershey Almond Bar Day...
Wednesday is Peach Snapple Tea Day!
Thursday is anything Starbucks Day...
Then.......TGIF
Columbus who???
~victoria~

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

What 'deep' ponderin' thoughts for this day!!! Heeehehehe!

It's kinda like that anyway. Some places close for Columbus Day while others have sales! Go figure....

Have a blessed day sweetie however ya celebrate it!!! :o)

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

I've always told my co-workers I'm up for all the holidays that allow us a day off work- any holiday, any country (very diverse). I do work at the HQ for a wold wide company. I'll even write a paper on the day. So, to move forward . . .

Call your congressman today- Hershey Kiss Day it is!

Pondside said...

I've always wondered about your holiday that falls on our Thanksgiving Day. It really does seem a little weird to be celebrating Columbus when there are so many other, worthwhile historical characters to celebrate.

PeggyR said...

Trust me I don't get it either.

lissa said...

yeah, me too. I don't know what Columbus really did. I read he was really second when it comes to discovering the new world but who knows the real truth as we were not there.

love to have chocolate day or one of those free days you just get a day off for no reason.

Allie said...

How about jammie vegie day! Love you cousin!

Ames said...

I'd gladly give it up if they would bring back Prayer in schools right after saying the pledge of allegiance to the United States of America with hand over heart while facing the United States Flag and then singing God Bless America...we need it! Is that too much to ask for in lieu of celebrating Columbus Day? :) ~Ames

Jo said...

Up here it's Thanksgiving ... but I never did really understand your Columbus Day ... There are so many other amazing people to celebrate ... but then again, Hershey's Kiss's are totally worth a celebration for at least a day ...

21 Wits said...

I completely agree! Worse yet are the holidays that most people don't even have a clue as to what they are. Some schools don't even teach what they are, or hand out those little sheets to color and learn what the holiday is. Seriously I know youngsters who think the 4th of July is just for hotdogs and fireworks...really isn't it sad. Veterans Day?...Labor Day? hmmmm...and my most fave chocolate kisses is almond and most of all The Dark Chocolate...oh yeah!!!! Thanks too Jenny for your very nice comment, I say ditto on that! I hope you're feeling better too! Take good care of YOU! Not too much chocolate okay!!!

Caroline said...

I don't get it either. Everything around here is open...EVERYTHING EXCEPT...the banks. What good does that do us? Not much. :) I guess it's just another day to take off work. I don't think he even actually "discovered" or set foot in America first. I think it was the West Indies or something like that. LOL I don't even know...I'm lost altogether. Have a great week!!

Anonymous said...

Personally I don't understand why Columbus Day either and really wish they would do away with it. I like this post very much. Hugs sweet Jenny

Susan Anderson said...

I'd be willing up Columbus as long as I didn't have to give up the day off for my husband. (He's a banker!)

;)

Amy said...

Hmmmm. Food for thought. I mean, I have never thought about it, but you are right. Why do we have this holiday? I mean, we already celebrate our country (July 4th), we celebrate our presidents, we celebrate 3 days in honor of our soldiers (Memorial, Veterans, and Patriot Day)... so I am not sure I get it, either. Food for thought. Though Jeffrey did get the day off, so that makes me happy.

Busy Bee Suz said...

YOU ARE SO RIGHT!!!! (did you hear me screaming?)
I give you two thumbs up for Steve Jobs day and hershey kiss day. As long as we can just go back to the original hershey's kiss...it is still the best.
xo

Ms. A said...

Yeah, I don't get it either. I'll bet your postman likes it!

Julie Kwiatkowski Schuler said...

My husband had to work, but the kids stayed home. That's no kind of holiday! I think we should celebrate by barging into houses that are nicer than ours and just declaring to the inhabitants that we live there now.

Holly said...

Once you give government employees a holiday it's almost impossible to take back!!!
While we're on the subject of holidays, could we move Thanksgiving to the beginning of November??? Seems like it gets overlooked more and more every year. Canada's is too early, ours is too late.
That's my request for the day!

Unknown said...

Once I really delved into Columbus I was rather disappointed by some of the things I unearthed too. Hmmm....A national chocolate day sounds good to me. Chocolate (dark that is) is actually good for your heart.

Dazee Dreamer said...

I love to go to the bank the day before or after a "fake" holiday. I've made friends with the people that work there, so they know I'm going to give them crap. I don't know why we just don't do like canada does and just celebrate thanksgiving. Now that a holiday that I love.

Lourie said...

Seriously checked the mail TWICE today before it sunk in! D'oh! AND my cousin's kids have the day off...why don't mine...they just live in the next county. Stupid holiday. When we lived in VA on a military base and the kids school was on POST they got Columbus Day but NOT Veterans Day. Figure that one out. hahaha. I like the idea of a Hershey Chocolate Day. :)

siggiofmaine said...

The eternal question every October ...when I grew up in Wisconsin, it started the teachers convention week. And when I worked as a RN, it was just another day...
he didn't discover America...there were already people here...if you want to get specific about it. I think it was because October needed a holiday during the school year. Almost every month has a holiday during the school year...not always with time off, but a lot of them.
I like Hershey Kisses Day...as good a reason as any.☺.


☮ Siggi in Downeast Maine

Gattina said...

When I was still working I didn't care for whom we had a day off, the thing what counts was that I had a day off. We have assumption day where Mary went to heaven for me she also can go to hell, what matters is the day off. I even agree to a Columbus day once a week !

Unknown said...

I always thought that they did away with Columbus Day after they found out about the whole slavery thing. I guess it's been a while since I've had to celebrate it....

We had a holiday the same day here in Japan too except it wasn't Columbus Day since he didn't stop by Japan. It's Sports Day, a day where we go and do sports or if your have kids, you get to watch them run and do relays at school :)

Deborah Ann said...

I'm with you. I like getting my mail. I don't care what kind of day it is. Even if it's 'dip your potato chip in chocolate' day - I WANT MY MAIL! I'm hoping to hear from Publishers Clearing House anytime now...

Keri {One Mama's Daily Drama} said...

I'm totally with you! I seem to remember that not only did Columbus not discover America first, he never actually made it to the US. As in he "discovered" Cuba. And I doubt they're celebrating his holiday.

Happy Steve Jobs Day.