holidays Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

On the calendar: Ask Roger Anything

naming the weeks

Christmas and Kwanzaa are always right next to each other on the calendar. But this year, Chanukah (Hanukkah) “starts at nightfall on December 25, 2024, and ends with nightfall on January 2, 2025, beginning on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev, and lasting for eight days.” I happen to love holidays that have movable dates. Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Easter, and even the Monday holidays have different dates.

I spent more time than it was worth trying to answer a question somebody posted on Facebook. We have names for the months of the year and for the days of the week. Why don’t we have names for the weeks? It’s primarily because of the quirky nature of the calendar.

Even if we did name them, what would they be called? November 2nd to 8th could be election week, and November 22nd to 28th could be Thanksgiving week. But that doesn’t work for two good reasons. There are only 13 days between them, and they’re way too specifically American. Starting on the equinoxes or solstices is problematic because they aren’t the same worldwide.

I’ve concluded that weeks are just not meant to be named, although if you have some ideas, please let me know. It must be a system that applies to multiple countries, cultures, and religions or eschews them.

The ask

Whatever holiday you celebrate, you can provide a present: Ask Roger Anything. Roger loves this present. This is the time of the year when you let him know what you’re thinking about. You will likely ask him questions that he had not thought of asking himself.

Running a daily blog involves talking to oneself, so having you talk to him is much more enjoyable and far less schizophrenic.

Whatever you ask, I will endeavor to respond in the next several days. I’ll even promise to tell the truth; it may not be the WHOLE truth, but it’ll be pretty close.

You may leave your questions in this blog’s comments section, on my Facebook page (Roger Owen Green), or on my BlueSky page (roger green.bsky.social); always look for the duck.

Formerly known as Armistice Day

changed in 1954

When I read history.com telling of the history of Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, most of it was quite familiar.

“The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, marking the official end of World War I. Nonetheless, the armistice date of November 11, 1918, remained in the public imagination as the date that marked the end of the conflict.”

But somehow, this part I forgot, though I was alive at the time. In 1968, “Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which sought to ensure three-day weekends for federal employees—and encourage tourism and travel—by celebrating four national holidays (Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day) on Mondays.” I had forgotten that Veterans Day was part of the Monday holiday package.

“The observation of Veterans Day was set as the fourth Monday in October. The first Veterans Day under the new law was Monday, October 25, 1971; confusion ensued as many states disapproved of this change and continued to observe the holiday on its original date.

“In 1975, after it became evident that the actual date of Veterans Day carried historical and patriotic significance to many Americans, President Gerald Ford signed a new law returning the observation of Veterans Day to November 11th beginning in 1978.” This oddly pleased me. Not everything has to be shoehorned into a Monday holiday.

I used to correct people who would confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. So pedantic, I suppose. “Memorial Day (the fourth Monday in May) honors American service members who died in service to their country or as a result of injuries incurred during battle, while Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans—living or dead—but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime.”

Armistice Day

Still, I miss the term Armistice Day, which is what the holiday was called before World War II and the Korean conflict. “In 1954, after lobbying efforts by veterans’ service organizations, the 83rd U.S. Congress amended the 1938 act that had made Armistice Day a holiday, striking the word ‘Armistice’ in favor of ‘Veterans.'”

But three states recognize Veterans’ Day/Armistice Day: Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Texas. Here’s a song by Paul Simon.

Did you know there is a Veterans Day poster contest? I didn’t either. Here’s the winning design for 2022, which frankly doesn’t excite me very much.

Here are some 2022 Veterans Day discounts and freebies, plus more specific deals at restaurants.

PTSD

I worry about the conditions veterans experience. BVA points to unemployment, their relationship with themselves, homelessness, physical handicaps, and poor mental health as very real issues.

Organizations such as the VFW and Sound Off note a sad situation. “Between 19% and 44% of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan meet criteria for mental health disorders, such as PTSD or depression. Yet, 47% do not seek mental health support.” Sound Off and other groups “provide a platform where military members who would otherwise avoid mental health support can engage anonymously with peers like you who can understand their experiences.”

I like a good parade occasionally. But Thank you for your service rings hollow until the country does better by the people it has put in harm’s way.

What and why IS Armed Forces Day?

“We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence… The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”

As a guy who loves celebrating holidays, I must nevertheless admit that I had had no idea what Armed Forces Day was, distinct from Memorial Day and Veterans Day, though I saw it on my calendar each year. And I never even thought much about it until very recently.

From TimeAndDate:

“On August 31, 1949, Louis Johnson, who was the United States’ Secretary of Defense, announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. The event stemmed from the armed forces’ unification under one department – the Department of Defense. The Army, Navy and Air Force leagues adopted the newly formed day. The Marine Corps League declined to drop support for Marine Corps Day but supports Armed Forces Day too.”

Okay, so Memorial Day honors the war dead, and Veterans Day commemorates, well, military veterans.

“Armed Forces Day was a day for the military to show ‘state-of-the-art’ equipment to Americans. It was also a day to honor and acknowledge Americans in the armed forces. Parades, open houses, receptions and air shows were held at the inaugural Armed Forces Day.” It is celebrated on the third Saturday of May. It is also part of Armed Forces Week, which begins on the second Saturday of May.

Ah, so like that expensive parade scheduled in November that kind of remind me of the Soviet Union or North Korea? And how are we supposed to treat military contractors such as Halliburton, who made nearly $40 million from the Iraq war?

MilitaryInfo adds:

“Since Armed Forces Day is not a federal holiday, many military installations are available for public viewing for those wishing to take part in the celebration or to learn more about our country’s military. Some other ways to celebrate the special occasion include wearing red, white and blue; flying the American Flag, talking with or writing to a military member, donating to military-based organizations, or sending care packages for those serving overseas.”

About three dozen other countries have Armed Services Day, though not at the same time: June 30 in the United Kingdom, October 6 in Egypt. Here are some other dates.

Admittedly, I struggle with militarism, big time. I worry about what President Eisenhower, a former general, called the military industrial complex, “what Eisenhower called a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions… we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence… The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”

February 14: Saint Valentine and his day

Saint Valentine is represented in pictures with birds and roses.

I was looked at the Catholic Online about Saint Valentine. For a Protestant kid, I’ve long been rather fascinated by the whole Roman Catholic canonization process.

The stories of Saint Valentine may involve two different saints by the same name. Someone of that name was arrested multiple times for trying to convert people to Christianity. marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians being persecuted by Claudius in Rome.

“A relationship between the saint and emperor began to grow until Valentine attempted to convince Claudius of Christianity. Claudius became raged and sentenced Valentine to death, commanding him to renounce his faith or be beaten with clubs and beheaded.

“St. Valentine refused to renounce his faith and Christianity and was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269.” Or 270, or 273 or 280…

“Because so little is reliably known of him, in 1969 the Catholic Church removed his name from the General Roman Calendar, leaving his liturgical celebration to local calendars. The Roman Catholic Church continues to recognize him as a saint, listing him as such in the February 14 entry in the Roman Martyrology, and authorizing liturgical veneration of him on February 14 in any place where that day is not devoted to some other obligatory celebration…”

“Saint Valentine is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travelers, and young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses.” Fainting IS a part of romance, I reckon, and sometimes love is a plague.

This theory has been heavily disputed: “While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial… others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to ‘Christianize’ the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.”

The Census Bureau, in its Facts for Features, notes that “in A.D. 496, Pope Gelasius I declared Feb. 14 as Valentine’s Day… Esther Howland, a native of Massachusetts, is given credit for selling the first mass-produced Valentine’s Day cards in the 1840s.” So his holiday wasn’t just “invented by Hallmark, as I hear EVERY year.

Among people 15 and older who have been married, 19.1% of men and women “have been married twice as of 2015. About 5.4 have married three or more times. By comparison, 75.5 percent of people who have ever been married have made only one trip down the aisle.” 29.7 and 27.8 years are the “median age at first marriage in 2015 for men and women, respectively.”

I DO understand the sentiment that we should cancel St. Valentine’s Day, since there sometimes appears to be “precious little love in the world.” Perhaps that all the MORE reason to honor it. Those people who scrubbed the swastikas off the New York City subway train, that’s love. When folks rally at the local Jewish Community Center, twice, in 2017, because of bomb threats, that’s love. It would be easy to focus on the initial bad actions, but it’s our response to that action that is the real answer.

The new school year

Because Easter is so early, spring break is not until April 25 – April 29,

When the Daughter was in kindergarten, The Wife worked at that school. The holidays, snow days, etc. were in sync. It was great.

Every school year since, the trick is to see where The Daughter’s school schedule fails to coincide with The Wife’s teaching schedule at multiple schools, plus my work schedule. Then we figure out whether we can trade with other parents in child sitting (optimally), or figure out who’s taking the day off work.

The semester doesn’t begin until September 8, the day after Labor Day. Almost immediately, I see the Daughter has both September 14 (Rosh Hashana) AND September 23 (Yom Kippur) off. In previous years, one or the other of these Jewish holidays would land on a weekend. My wife’s schools, more rural, DON’T have either day off, and neither do I.

On October 12 (Columbus Day) and November 11 (Veterans Day), we all have the holidays, and the two of them have November 26-27 off for Thanksgiving. But November 25 is Parent-Teacher Conferences, which means no classes for the child, but one of us should probably ATTEND said conference and stay home the rest of the day.

They have December 24 – January 1 as holiday recess, and of course, I have Christmas and New Year’s off myself. We all have January 18, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

But January 25 is Superintendent’s Conference Day. Another one to suss out.

February 15 (Presidents’ Day), we all have it off, and the rest of the week is winter recess, for the teacher and the student in the house.

This is interesting, though. March 25 (Good Friday), which the Daughter has off, the Wife does not. But because Easter is so early, spring break is not until April 25 – April 29, which, thankfully, meshes for the two of them.

June 23, 24 – 1/2 Days for the elementary schools, but The Wife will figure out what to do.

That’s it, except for May 30 (Memorial Day), which we all have off. UNLESS the district uses none of the three days are provided for snow/emergency closings. “For each day used, the following dates (in order) would become days of instruction: May 31, May 26, May 27.” So I root for snow days for which my daughter’s district and my wife’s districts are in sync.