Holidays and Observance

I've always been fascinated with them. Not only because I associate them with no work or (when I was younger) no school but because of the celebration they conjure. Growing up in the Philippines there seems to be always a reason to declare a holiday. My favorite is the absolutely meaningless "sandwich" holidays i.e. when Tuesday falls as an official holiday, Monday becomes a sandwich holiday. I love it! When I worked for the French Embassy-Manila I enjoyed the celebration of Bastille. When I lived in America, I loved Thanksgiving best; I still vividly remember my first Thanksgiving with the Montforts in New Jersey. When I lived in Ghana, I especially liked the Farmer's Day on December 1st. It was special to me because I lived with a farmer and his family, the Havors. When I lived in Kenya, October 10th was unforgettable. Moi Day. Just reading it makes me feel like I am entitled to do as I please on that day - thinking of "moi" in French - the day of Daniel Toroitich arap Moi (pronounced /moy/), Kenyan President. In South Korea, there seem to be countless Independence Days. I really have not gotten to the bottom of it all, but I like it that there are so many. What tops it for me is the South Korean observance of Pepero Day or Stick Day, celebrated on November 11 (11/11 stands for four sticks) a day to give loved ones cookie sticks dipped in chocolate. Ah! no other holidays in the world, contrived or not, can out best a day of cookies! On Stick Day, you don't have to dress scary or funny to merit a stick cookie. You just have to be loved. If that is not the best holiday in the world, I don't know what is.


"The holiest of all holidays are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart, the secret anniversaries of the heart." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet