National holidays:
They originated in America to celebrate the achievements, births, deaths and works of the famous. Originally national holidays were reserved for presidents or very significant people, but now they seem to be created for anybody and anything. Also, new forms of national holiday have developed, those such as Halloween/ Father’s/Mother’s/Grandma-pa/Valentine’s day etc, the list goes on, however, these do not really celebrate much, they are just corporate gimmicks to ‘bring in some money!’ We only celebrate these things because we think that we have to. Since when did your parents expect cards or gifts on random days of the year?

What were the fist real national holidays?
In its home land of America, the national holiday began life as a celebration of the historically important, such as their forefathers who discovered and founded the country. The most famous holiday celebrating this idea is ‘Thanksgiving.’ This began in 1621, when the Plymouth colonists and Native Americans sat down to share an Autumn harvest meal. This has become a symbol of cooperation between the new English invaders and the Native Americans. I believe that this is a perfectly acceptable form of the national holiday to celebrate because it has helped the country develop and prosper.

Another national holiday which i believe to be justified is ‘President’s Day.’ This is celebrated on Washington’s birthday, it celebrates current and former presidents due to all the work that they do for the country. A day off is all they ask and it is not to much to celebrate great heroes of their country.

I think that when a national holiday is deserved then it is justified, but when it is created to produce a market that will then need to be filled until the holiday is dropped I believe it is unacceptable.

Why has a new generation of holidays formed?
This ‘new generation’ is formed of all those holidays which celebrate a corporate creation. They all started for a simple reason, the lull between national holidays, and the money loss associated, needed to be filled. For example, Valentine’s day, this holiday slots perfectly between Christmas and Easter, how convenient! The main problem I have found with this variation of a national holiday is that everybody is forced into buying unnecessary gifts, otherwise they seem selfish. Genuine National holidays need no gifts because they do not celebrate friends or family or indeed anybody who can receive a gift.

What is the main issue with the new generation of national holiday

Simply they can not be stopped! Once a holiday has been created, advertised and people begin to celebrate it, they are stuck in a downward spiral because they cannot stop buying gifts Also a huge number of zed holidays are being created meaning we are constantly buying gifts for no justified reason.

Overall
Overall, we could stop celebrating these holidays but, well… ‘Son’s Day’ wouldn’t go amiss would it?

The holidays in existence so far (mainly in America).
New year
Martin Luther King Jr day
Groundhog day
Valentine’s day
President’s day
Saint Patrick’s day
Easter
Earth day
Mother’s day
Grandfather’s day
Flag day
Grandmother’s day
Father’s day
Independence day
Labor day
Cloubus day
Election day
Veteran’s day
Thanksgiving
Christmas