I posted a rather off hand comment yesterday to social media as I often do. I see that block that says what's on your mind and I am compelled to write something. Sometimes it is met with little response and at others I am overwhelmed. Amazing what can be inferred by others from a few words. Amazing too what can be implied by those same words. It can be a slippery slope to journey out upon. I've taken a few monumental falls in my time. I do enjoy reading the comments and different points of view. With folks that I feel I know better than others I can almost tell the mood they are in. I'm certain that must be evident to others concerning me as well.
As to that remark yesterday I was saying I found it annoying that all our celebrations are now weekend deals. Today is Mothers Day and the ads on television are calling it Mothers Day weekend. I get annoyed when the sentiment of the occasion is manipulated for profits. That is the annoyance I was talking about. I also get annoyed when people want to celebrate their birthdays for a week at a time. My point is, why not celebrate the occasion , on the occasion and leave it at that. In response to one of my friends I explained that it is scarcity that makes something special. If we celebrate the occasion for days or weeks at a time how special is that? Not very is my feeling. All things in moderation. Mothers Day, your Birthday, Christmas Day, Memorial Day all have one thing in common, they are a day! You do see the theme there right? They are special days and therefore should be celebrated for the day. At least that is my thinking on the subject. I understand the sentiment about how special your Mom is, how special you are and all of that. Yes it would be fantastic to have the year of Ben! I really don't think we could maintain that level of excitement for a year though.
I'm thinking a great deal of this began in 1968 when the government intervened. That's correct, it was Congress that decided to move holidays around to make them more convenient. They called it the Uniform Monday holiday act. There were certain holidays that were exempted however. Christmas was one of them. What was the reason for that? In my opinion it was simply because even Congress realized the importance of certain days, the significance of those days, and knew not to mess around with that. Those days are too important to move for simple convenience. The law was passed in 1968 but didn't take effect until 1971. Why was that? I'm thinking the Congress just wanted to give people time to get used to that idea, a cooling off period between signing the legislation and actual implementation. Now the government will tell you when to celebrate what! Holidays are a pragmatic thing right? Let's not go getting emotional about it unless that emotion involves spending more money. Long weekends are conducive to that. Far more convenient. And now, here in 2018 what do you hear more often than not? It's a three day weekend! Many don't know what we are celebrating just that it is a three day weekend. The actual purpose, the thing that made the day special, has been relegated to greeting cards and three day weekends. The actual event is the excuse, not the purpose.
In all of this I was reminded of another day that used to be special. We call it Sunday. It stems from the Jewish Sabbath which begins Friday night and lasts until Saturday night. I have been told Christians worship on Sunday because that is the day Christ rose from the dead. A day to celebrate indeed. When I was young that day was special and honored by most business people. Stores were closed, in fact most business wasn't conducted on Sunday at all. It was a simple day of rest, a time to be with your family and enjoy the day together. Many chose to go to church. Church was the social event of the day. How many went for the social aspect and how many for genuine worship is known only to God. I always gave my fellow man the benefit of the doubt. I believe some folks acted in certain ways only to save face but that is a different topic. Yes there were the pious ones that much is certain, but I would rather have a pious man in church rather than none at all. And today, today Sunday is a day like any other, business as usual. That was a government choice as well. The so named Blue laws do vary by state but are slowly disappearing altogether. Only eight states retain Sunday blue laws today. They are being repealed. In my eye a direct reflection that the United States is abandoning that Christian foundation we were built upon. Setting the religious aside in favor of commerce can't be a good thing. Even those that professed no religious views or beliefs benefitted from a day off. Well that is until we decided the dollar was more important than anything else.
I guess this is a lot to say about a simple subject. Life isn't as easy as we like to think. The things that make up our thoughts are cultivated over time. We pick and choose. Sometimes we wind up with a hybrid and sometimes what we wind up with is useless. I have to say so far in my lifetime I haven't seen much improvement in society as a whole. Civilized? Cultivated? I'm not so certain about all of that. I'm thinking a return to the simple things is in order. Celebrate the day! Keep that day special. Everyday isn't a day for you to profit personally, some days are to celebrate others. Like today, for example. And here is an interesting note. The founder of the holiday, the lady that started it all, " Her Mother’s Day campaign was funded primarily by her inheritance, and she came to resent the fact that florists and candy makers were making lots of money from the idea without crediting her. Jarvis came to feel that the day was being used as “a means of profiteering,” as the New York Times reported on May 18, 1923. "
So, I'd say not much new in the world is there?
As to that remark yesterday I was saying I found it annoying that all our celebrations are now weekend deals. Today is Mothers Day and the ads on television are calling it Mothers Day weekend. I get annoyed when the sentiment of the occasion is manipulated for profits. That is the annoyance I was talking about. I also get annoyed when people want to celebrate their birthdays for a week at a time. My point is, why not celebrate the occasion , on the occasion and leave it at that. In response to one of my friends I explained that it is scarcity that makes something special. If we celebrate the occasion for days or weeks at a time how special is that? Not very is my feeling. All things in moderation. Mothers Day, your Birthday, Christmas Day, Memorial Day all have one thing in common, they are a day! You do see the theme there right? They are special days and therefore should be celebrated for the day. At least that is my thinking on the subject. I understand the sentiment about how special your Mom is, how special you are and all of that. Yes it would be fantastic to have the year of Ben! I really don't think we could maintain that level of excitement for a year though.
I'm thinking a great deal of this began in 1968 when the government intervened. That's correct, it was Congress that decided to move holidays around to make them more convenient. They called it the Uniform Monday holiday act. There were certain holidays that were exempted however. Christmas was one of them. What was the reason for that? In my opinion it was simply because even Congress realized the importance of certain days, the significance of those days, and knew not to mess around with that. Those days are too important to move for simple convenience. The law was passed in 1968 but didn't take effect until 1971. Why was that? I'm thinking the Congress just wanted to give people time to get used to that idea, a cooling off period between signing the legislation and actual implementation. Now the government will tell you when to celebrate what! Holidays are a pragmatic thing right? Let's not go getting emotional about it unless that emotion involves spending more money. Long weekends are conducive to that. Far more convenient. And now, here in 2018 what do you hear more often than not? It's a three day weekend! Many don't know what we are celebrating just that it is a three day weekend. The actual purpose, the thing that made the day special, has been relegated to greeting cards and three day weekends. The actual event is the excuse, not the purpose.
In all of this I was reminded of another day that used to be special. We call it Sunday. It stems from the Jewish Sabbath which begins Friday night and lasts until Saturday night. I have been told Christians worship on Sunday because that is the day Christ rose from the dead. A day to celebrate indeed. When I was young that day was special and honored by most business people. Stores were closed, in fact most business wasn't conducted on Sunday at all. It was a simple day of rest, a time to be with your family and enjoy the day together. Many chose to go to church. Church was the social event of the day. How many went for the social aspect and how many for genuine worship is known only to God. I always gave my fellow man the benefit of the doubt. I believe some folks acted in certain ways only to save face but that is a different topic. Yes there were the pious ones that much is certain, but I would rather have a pious man in church rather than none at all. And today, today Sunday is a day like any other, business as usual. That was a government choice as well. The so named Blue laws do vary by state but are slowly disappearing altogether. Only eight states retain Sunday blue laws today. They are being repealed. In my eye a direct reflection that the United States is abandoning that Christian foundation we were built upon. Setting the religious aside in favor of commerce can't be a good thing. Even those that professed no religious views or beliefs benefitted from a day off. Well that is until we decided the dollar was more important than anything else.
I guess this is a lot to say about a simple subject. Life isn't as easy as we like to think. The things that make up our thoughts are cultivated over time. We pick and choose. Sometimes we wind up with a hybrid and sometimes what we wind up with is useless. I have to say so far in my lifetime I haven't seen much improvement in society as a whole. Civilized? Cultivated? I'm not so certain about all of that. I'm thinking a return to the simple things is in order. Celebrate the day! Keep that day special. Everyday isn't a day for you to profit personally, some days are to celebrate others. Like today, for example. And here is an interesting note. The founder of the holiday, the lady that started it all, " Her Mother’s Day campaign was funded primarily by her inheritance, and she came to resent the fact that florists and candy makers were making lots of money from the idea without crediting her. Jarvis came to feel that the day was being used as “a means of profiteering,” as the New York Times reported on May 18, 1923. "
So, I'd say not much new in the world is there?
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