Mikie got me rambling!
ROFL "I hear he’s about as useful as a chocolate teapot."
Being Atheist, I've always felt it was a bit ridiculous that the state/schools/etc. close to observe Christian holidays... and no others. There are holidays that many people of many backgrounds, not only religious, observe.
El Dia De Los Muertos is a Spanish (mostly Mexican I believe, but I could be wrong) holiday similar to Halloween. Translated to English, "The Day of the Dead" is an important holiday where rather than mourn the passing of loved ones, a party is held in their remembrance.
One of your commenter’s mentioned St. Patrick’s Day. St. Paddy’s is technically a Christian celebration which was mostly celebrated by Catholics originally. It has come to be known as an Irish celebration in the U.S. because St. Patrick is one of the Patron Saints of Ireland.
What about Ramadan, which Muslims celebrate? According to their traditions, the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Ramadan is the time to fast for Allah, and Muslims pray more than they usually do. They try to purify themselves and ask for guidance to keep them from evil.
Ridván is a twelve-day festival in the Bahá'í Faith (which originated in Persia), commemorating the commencement of Bahá'u'lláh's prophethood. It is the most holy Bahá'í festival, and is also referred to as the "Most Great Festival" and the "King of Festivals". The first day is most important, and is known as "The Day of Supreme Felicity".
Why doesn’t the government close for these holidays, and the many more that could be listed? Mexicans, Irish, Muslims, Persians… The U.S. has many of these people as citizens. Why are Good Friday and Christmas important enough to be properly celebrated but other religious days aren’t? Why aren’t cultural celebrations important enough? The U.S. is a melting pot of cultures and faiths which all deserve to be celebrated.
Below are the 2009 holidays important enough for Delaware government to close:
New Years Day - January 1 - Thursday
Martin Luther King Jr. Day - January 19 - Monday
Presidents Day - February 16 - Monday
Good Friday - April 10 - Friday
Memorial Day - May 25 - Monday
Independence Day - July 3 - Friday
Labor Day - September 7 - Monday
Columbus Day - October 12 - Monday
Veterans Day - November 11 - Wednesday
Thanksgiving Day - November 26 - Thursday
Day After Thanksgiving - November 27 - Friday
Christmas Day - December 25 - Friday
Rather than closing for these holidays, governments and schools, etc should remain open for business as usual. People should be given X amount of “holiday” days where they will choose which days to use as their holidays. A Jewish person…who does not celebrate Christmas, would much rather work on Christmas, and have off on Yom Kippur or one of the days of The Feast of Lights…aka Chanukah.
As an Atheist, I’d like to work on Good Friday but have off on something like… Earth Day, which was yesterday. I’d rather celebrate the planet that houses me than be forced to celebrate the beliefs of others that I do not share.
Um… this is a long fucking comment. See Mikie, this is why you should just let me be a contributor! lol Wow, and I only cussed once, at the end! Aren’t you proud? hahaha
Being Atheist, I've always felt it was a bit ridiculous that the state/schools/etc. close to observe Christian holidays... and no others. There are holidays that many people of many backgrounds, not only religious, observe.
El Dia De Los Muertos is a Spanish (mostly Mexican I believe, but I could be wrong) holiday similar to Halloween. Translated to English, "The Day of the Dead" is an important holiday where rather than mourn the passing of loved ones, a party is held in their remembrance.
One of your commenter’s mentioned St. Patrick’s Day. St. Paddy’s is technically a Christian celebration which was mostly celebrated by Catholics originally. It has come to be known as an Irish celebration in the U.S. because St. Patrick is one of the Patron Saints of Ireland.
What about Ramadan, which Muslims celebrate? According to their traditions, the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Ramadan is the time to fast for Allah, and Muslims pray more than they usually do. They try to purify themselves and ask for guidance to keep them from evil.
Ridván is a twelve-day festival in the Bahá'í Faith (which originated in Persia), commemorating the commencement of Bahá'u'lláh's prophethood. It is the most holy Bahá'í festival, and is also referred to as the "Most Great Festival" and the "King of Festivals". The first day is most important, and is known as "The Day of Supreme Felicity".
Why doesn’t the government close for these holidays, and the many more that could be listed? Mexicans, Irish, Muslims, Persians… The U.S. has many of these people as citizens. Why are Good Friday and Christmas important enough to be properly celebrated but other religious days aren’t? Why aren’t cultural celebrations important enough? The U.S. is a melting pot of cultures and faiths which all deserve to be celebrated.
Below are the 2009 holidays important enough for Delaware government to close:
New Years Day - January 1 - Thursday
Martin Luther King Jr. Day - January 19 - Monday
Presidents Day - February 16 - Monday
Good Friday - April 10 - Friday
Memorial Day - May 25 - Monday
Independence Day - July 3 - Friday
Labor Day - September 7 - Monday
Columbus Day - October 12 - Monday
Veterans Day - November 11 - Wednesday
Thanksgiving Day - November 26 - Thursday
Day After Thanksgiving - November 27 - Friday
Christmas Day - December 25 - Friday
Rather than closing for these holidays, governments and schools, etc should remain open for business as usual. People should be given X amount of “holiday” days where they will choose which days to use as their holidays. A Jewish person…who does not celebrate Christmas, would much rather work on Christmas, and have off on Yom Kippur or one of the days of The Feast of Lights…aka Chanukah.
As an Atheist, I’d like to work on Good Friday but have off on something like… Earth Day, which was yesterday. I’d rather celebrate the planet that houses me than be forced to celebrate the beliefs of others that I do not share.
Um… this is a long fucking comment. See Mikie, this is why you should just let me be a contributor! lol Wow, and I only cussed once, at the end! Aren’t you proud? hahaha