Archive for the 'Holidays' Category

International Women’s Day: More Relevant Now Than Ever

By: alex.chrum, March 8, 2012 in Holidays. Closed Tags: , , , .

For over a century, men and women have been celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8 in roughly 100 places all over the world. At the movement’s start in the early 1900s, millions of men and women took to the streets to campaign for women’s rights to work, vote, be trained and hold office, and to end discrimination against them as a whole.

March 8 marks International Women's Day

To date, IWD is recognized as an official holiday in roughly 30 countries, marked by sons, husbands, fathers and male friends giving the women in their lives gifts and words of appreciation and encouragement. This year, there are over 500 events taking place to commemorate the event in the U.S. and Canada alone.

While President Obama named March of 2011 “Women’s History Month,” the United States has yet to acknowledge IWD as an official holiday. This is especially disturbing considering the recent movements against women’s reproductive health, which are largely being spearheaded by male politicians. For this reason, it is important that International Women’s Day receive extra special attention this year. Continue reading ‘International Women’s Day: More Relevant Now Than Ever’

Hidden in Plain Sight: The True Meaning of Thanksgiving

By: alex.chrum, November 23, 2011 in Holidays. Closed Tags: .

If I was so inclined, I could list a myriad of reasons why Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday. Genocide and gluttony aside, I have one of the least diverse palates you’ll ever find on a grown woman. I don’t eat stuffing or the myriad of different oven-baked casseroles, and if it wasn’t for the fact that a majority of fast food restaurants are closed on this holiday, I wouldn’t even eat the turkey or the mashed potatoes.

Does your Thanksgiving look like a Normal Rockwell painting? Yeah, me neither.

Moreover, I have worked retail for the past six years, meaning that every Thanksgiving Day is spent prepping for the advent of Black Friday. Because of this, coping with uncomfortable and obnoxious familial habits becomes difficult; unlike most, I must suffer through the pain without the aid of alcohol.

Despite these drawbacks, the Thanksgiving holiday in and of itself provides the type of reflection that is otherwise impossible in the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life. It is the one day a year that Americans are forced to consider their overwhelming luck, to look at what they have rather than what they do not, to stop taking things for granted and to simply be thankful.

Continue reading ‘Hidden in Plain Sight: The True Meaning of Thanksgiving’

Happy Halloween! Err…HalloWorldSeries!

By: alex.chrum, October 31, 2011 in Celebrities, Holidays and Sports. Closed Tags: , , , .

With all the recent (and well-deserved) hoopla surrounding the St. Louis Cardinals being named World Series champions this past Friday, Halloween has pretty much fallen by the wayside. A majority of the city’s weekend festivities for the holiday undoubtedly morphed into some conglomeration of costume-slash-World Series party.

Hundreds of thousands of fans packed the streets of downtown St. Louis yesterday for the celebratory World Series parade.

Even at the parade in downtown St. Louis yesterday, grown men dressed in Bert and Ernie costumes were seen mingling and taking pictures with fans decked out in Cardinals gear.

At 22 years old, today is the first Halloween I have never celebrated. This is especially upsetting to me, for not only is Halloween my favorite holiday, but it confirms the already lingering suspicion I had regarding my own adulthood. To put it short, I am officially OLD. This year, for the first time, there were no parties, no costumes, and, needless to say, no trick-or-treating.

Continue reading ‘Happy Halloween! Err…HalloWorldSeries!’

Happy Independence Day!

By: Zack Stovall, July 1, 2011 in Holidays. 0 Comments Tags: , .

BOOM FOR AMERICA!

Ah, the Fourth of July! Grilling out at the Family BBQ, headed out to the lake with friends or just enjoying the three-day weekend, celebrating when humanity battled against hostile alien lifeforms invading Earth way back in 1996. Hard to believe it’s been 15 years… A moment of silence please, to those who fell to death lasers that day…

/wipes tear

Actually, Independence Day marks the signing of the Declaration of Independence, signed on the fourth of July 235 years ago by the Founding Fathers of the United States, including Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr*, John Hancock and so on.

One of the more interesting facets of Independence Day is its genesis to becoming such a revered holiday. The 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, was the first to reference the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 as the birth of the nation, most notably in the Gettysburg Address. “Four score and seven years ago,” referring to 87 years in the past, was meant to signify the fostering of a bill to cite the liberty of all mankind, while the nation at that time toiled in a civil war, having just fought its bloodiest battle in Gettysburg.

Prior to that infamous reference, most believed the country’s birthday to have been sometime during the Constitutional Convention, in which the structure of the unique bicameral legislation and the rest of the U.S. was established. One speech changed the scope of the nation entirely, by a good decade.

History lesson: SUCCESS! Now go shoot dangerous explosives within close proximity to numerous living abodes!

*It should be said that Aaron Burr SHOT the other Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton, in a duel. Glad to know we weren’t too far out of the middle ages when the country was founded.

Father’s Day Is Sunday: QUICK! Go Pick Up the Worst Necktie Possible!

By: Zack Stovall, June 17, 2011 in Holidays. 0 Comments Tags: .

Happy Father's Day!

Father’s Day is upon us again this year, a day of remembering that you forgot to get your mom anything for Mother’s Day and you should probably get around to doing that or at least get them some kind of joint present or something, because you know your stupid brother is going to get them something great, even though he said he was going to get them something in the $20-range, so you end up looking like the cheapskate, no-good, idiot son they regret having to claim in public as the product of their raising.

Just me? Okay.

Father’s Day was first celebrated in 1908, the same year as the first Mother’s Day earlier that year. Originally in July, its genesis began in Fairmont, West Virginia, as a tribute to the 210 fathers who were lost in a mining disaster the year before, while the traditional first Father’s Day was in Spokane, Washington two years later, created by Sonora Dodd.

Presidents long refused to recognize Father’s Day, fearing it would be over-commercialized, until Lyndon B. Johnson recognized it as the third Sunday in June in a presidential proclamation in 1966. Six years later, President Richard Nixon declared it a national holiday, exclaiming as he signed it into law, “Surely this is what I will be most remembered for throughout history!”

Okay, he didn’t really say that. But celebrate Father’s Day with dear old dad this weekend anyway he and you would like, whether it’s a barbecue, a baseball game or swapping terrible neckties.

Happy Flag Day to Flag Enthusiasts Everywhere

By: Zack Stovall, June 14, 2011 in Holidays. 0 Comments Tags: , .

It’s that time of year again. No, not summer. No, not the NBA Playoffs, either. Those are done. Sure, I guess it could be your dad’s birthday, but that’s not the point. Today is June 14th, otherwise known in the states as Flag Day.

The Flag of the United States of America was officially adopted on this day 234 years ago during the Second Continental Congress. While altered slightly to accommodate more states in our growing union, the Flag has remained an important icon in the fabric of American life. Most grew up pledging their allegiance to it and it has gained even more patriotic significance during the last decade of wars in which the USA has been involved.

It was formally adopted in 1917 by President Woodrow Wilson, and while not recognized as a federal holiday, is celebrated from sea to sea. Crowds even gather near the former home of Betsy Ross, seamstress of the first recorded American flag, in historic Philadelphia.

Hoist your own flag, but remember to keep it dry, off the ground and well lit. Also, only turn it upside down in times of distress.

“But It’s National Donut Day,” Says Man Who Already Eats Five Donuts Daily

By: Zack Stovall, June 3, 2011 in Holidays and News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

God Bless America

Today, June 3rd, is the 73rd Annual National Donut Day, a HERALDED day that comes but once a year, in which the general populace stops dead in its tracks and thanks their respective lucky stars that such a confectionery creation could have happened in their lifetime.

Donut juggernauts Krispy Kreme and Dunkin’ Donuts are giving away one free donut per customer (with the purchase of a beverage at DD) to celebrate this most glorious of occasions. This ignoble tradition began during WWI, as the Salvation Army, who is credited with introducing Americans to the sweet treats, and continued on through the Great Depression, when a great number of people needed food. The Salvation Army continues to deliver donuts to the needy today on National Donut Day.

Kind of makes you shed a high-fructose tear, does it not?

Memorial Day Weekend: Kickoff to Summer 2011

By: Zack Stovall, May 27, 2011 in Holidays. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Memorial Day weekend is upon us again. While baseball season and spring warmth begins to usher in summer tidings, Memorial Day its glorious three day weekend officially kicks it off, with barbecues, boat rides and camping trips galore.

Of course, the reason for Memorial Day is one for somber reflection for the military men and women who have made sacrifices, some of them with their lives, in order to protect and maintain the liberties that makes America so great.

How do you celebrate Memorial Day? Many celebrate by venturing to the abodes of friends and family, or go out on the lake, or take trips that the regular two day weekends may not allow time for. Comment below and tell us your Memorial Day experiences!

Be Sure to Move Your Schedule Around for the End of the World on May 21st

By: Zack Stovall, May 19, 2011 in Holidays and News. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Most cultures, religions and groups of people accept believe that at some point or another, the world will end. It seems to be a rather undeniable fact that, at the very least, the star we call our Sun is due to explode into a red giant or supernova in the next five billion years or so, which won’t be good for Earth. But five billion years is quite a while away.

Others have the end of the world coming on May 21st, 2011, which is also quite a way’s away SATURDAY?! A Christian religious group, founded by minister Harold Camping and his organization, Family Radio, has predicted the world to begin ending this very Saturday, beginning with a large earthquake to usher in the return of Jesus Christ, followed by approximately four months or so of rapture, then an ultimate world end in October.

While one’s initial reaction may be like “Wow, this is an insane person who actually believes the world is ending and should be institutionalized before he harms himself, others or a countless number of defenseless animals.” And they’d likely be correct, but Camping’s organization collected $80 million from 2005 to 2009, with $18 million in 2009 alone, all of which from willing donors.

Crazy? In all likelihood, yes. Crazy like a fox? YET TO BE DETERMINED.

Either way, just keep your schedule loose over the weekend. You never know if you have to bump a golf game with your dad or something to Sunday if there will be a Sunday to bump it to.

Friday the 13th: One of the Unluckiest Days of the Year

By: Zack Stovall, May 12, 2011 in Holidays. 0 Comments Tags: , .

'Sup.

This Friday is Friday the 13th, which as we all know from countless horror films, nursery rhymes and that one time a lady hit me with her car on a Friday the 13th, is a very unlucky day. Very unlucky indeed.

Is it actually unlucky? Probably not. Both the day Friday and the number 13 each have historical ties to bad lucky that date back centuries. The number 12 is a symbolic number connoting completeness and fulfillment. Consider the 12 Tribes of Israel, 12 hours on a clock, 12 months in a year or the 12 albums of the folk band “Peter, Paul and Mary.” Each complete, fulfilling and, in one case in particular, something my parents like a lot. The number 13 is considered to be a symbolic aberration of that perfect wholeness represented by the number 12, and has been for centuries and for however long they have been building hotels. Friday has also been considered to be an unlucky day throughout the Judeo-Christian cultures, as it is believed to be the day when Jesus Christ was crucified. Also, once again, a woman in a car hit me who was not in a car on a Friday the 13th. Very unlucky indeed.

A fear of Friday the 13th is known as friggatriskaidekaphobia. This phobia was renewed by the horror franchise of “Friday the 13th” films, in which the main character and villain, simply known as Jason, with his trademark hockey mask and blood-thirst, brutally murdered scores of unsuspecting people who may or may not have needed to announce their presence loudly and proceed to immediately get naked.

So celebrate this Friday the 13th by proceeding in all our endeavors with a great deal of care and caution. And really, be careful not to hit any kids with your cars. They will remember it for 12 years as the worst day of their lives, because it was the day they found out someone could get hit with a LeBaron and have that be hilarious, so long as it was them getting hit with the car and crying for a few hours.

Just be careful, okay?