HOLIDAYS ARE LOSING MEANING

Published Sep. 7, 2006 in "The Oklahoma Daily"
Viewable Online Here

By the time this is printed, the short week will almost be over.

For that short week, we can thank the enterprising spirit of the American worker. At least, that was what Labor Day originally commemorated. The first Labor Day celebrations were full of parading workers’ unions, speeches and celebrations for workers’ families. Since then, though, things have changed.

Granted, some of these changes have been undoubtedly for the better. The annual Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, a relatively recent addition, raises millions of dollars every year.

Most of the changes, however, have simply contributed to make this celebration of hard work and fruitful labor into an ironic smorgasbord of lethargy and unproductiveness.

For most people, the most significant aspect of Labor Day is that it offers an extra day’s respite from classes and work. The most profound and widespread celebration of this day may be reveling in a few more hours of sleep. And let’s not forget the killer sales at Best Buy and the mall. There’s nothing wrong with relaxing and shopping. But there is a problem with forgetting the original reason and significance for the holiday. That problem is all the more serious because it is not limited to just Labor Day.

Unfortunately, there are a number of holidays whose commemorations are getting farther and farther from their original intent. In some cases, certain holidays are not even being celebrated. To be fair, there is merit in some of these holiday boycotts.

An example is Columbus Day. Many Native Americans take much offense (rightly so, some would say) that a man who they see as the primary reason for the eventual decimation of their people would be commemorated. Thus, in some areas, Columbus Day is celebrated with a minimum of festivities — if any at all.

However, there are no such controversies surrounding several other holidays fading into obscurity. Examples include Flag Day and Veterans’ Day.

Flag Day commemorates the choosing of the first American flag. Old Glory, the red, white and blue, the very symbol of the United States known the world over, was adopted on this day. And most people don’t even realize when that day was.

Veterans’ Day is an even more meaningful holiday: it highlights the sacrifices and achievements of American veterans in all wars, regardless of outcome or public popularity. The holiday is intended to be a commemoration of the men and women who readily sacrifice for the defense of their country and fellow citizens at a moment’s notice.

Shamefully, outside of military bases and VFW posts, the celebrations of this solemn holiday are extremely limited, if existent at all.

Both these aforementioned holidays were once very widely celebrated. However, most of us today would be hard-pressed to even name the months that these once widely commemorated celebrations fall in.

Often, the only clue of the days of these holidays is a lack of postal service and a brief announcement on the local news. This is disheartening in and of itself, particularly since these holidays each have such a special significance. Even more foreboding is what this suggests could happen to today’s popularly celebrated holidays in the future.

Considering that Veterans’ Day and Flag Day were once so popular and well-known, one can’t help but wonder if this foreshadows the demise of more holidays. Particularly jarring is the idea that a holiday is only remembered for its material associations — extra sleep, cheaper shopping and so forth.

The reason and emotion behind the holiday, its true substance, seem worthy of remembrance only in the context of those things.

So, without the requisite sales and mass turkey dinners, are our children’s children destined to celebrate Thanksgiving like much of our generation celebrates Labor Day?

That is, concerned only with the extra sleep, and not at all with what it commemorates.

And is Fourth of July only to be known for sales of fireworks and hot dogs sometime in the future?

I sincerely hope not, because it’s not a pretty picture.

While Flag Day and Veterans’ Day may never regain their once-popular and widespread commemorations, we can, and should, prevent this from happening to other holidays in the future.

When you find yourself with no classes on a weekday, think about why that is. Think about whose accomplishments or what commemoration allowed you to not have to listen to lectures or not take a test that day. Think about the significance of that day in history. And finally, take time to remember that day’s date for the years to come.

Oh, by the way, Flag Day is June 14, and Veterans Day is Nov. 11. You’re welcome.