Every August 1 since 2012, I've used the massive reach of this blog as a forum to suggest ways to commemorate the month Hallmark has chosen to forsake. Most normal people would probably have given up after six ingenious notions had gotten as little traction as mine have. Ha! Normal is so over-rated, isn't it?
In approximate descending order of the amount of attention each often gets - no ethnic squabbling or quibbling, please - Columbus Day, St Patrick's Day, Rosh Hashanah, Cinco De Mayo, Kwanzaa, and Ramadan all have at least a small place on the U.S. calendar. Therefore, I'm proposing August 1 of each year be called "Immigrant Day". Which immigrants do we celebrate in this barren holiday-free month you ask? Any who do not easily fit with the groups that celebrate the holidays listed above. I can envision August 1 parades featuring - just to name a few (again, no squawking about who I left out, please) - Germans, Chinese, Brazilians. Maybe we even rotate and honor a different immigrant group on each day of the month; a free-floating celebration. Imagine the revelry, the wonderful food, the music!
OK, if you are not going to support my seventh brilliant idea, at least have the decency to tell me which of the others you like best. Those were: National Book Day, Sibling Month, Holiday For The 1% With Less Cash, National Conversation Day, Unsung Hero Day, or National Gratitude Day. All links below; you don't even have to search. Come on, give a guy a break.
http://reflectionsfromthebellcurve.blogspot.com/2012/08/august-1-2014-national-book-day.html
http://reflectionsfromthebellcurve.blogspot.com/2013/08/in-case-i-forget-january-3-july-24.html
http://reflectionsfromthebellcurve.blogspot.com/2014/08/holiday-for-1-with-less-cash.html
http://reflectionsfromthebellcurve.blogspot.com/2015/08/batting-cleanup-national-conversation.html
http://reflectionsfromthebellcurve.blogspot.com/2016/08/unsung-hero-day.html
http://reflectionsfromthebellcurve.blogspot.com/2017/08/national-gratitude-day.html
About Me
- Pat Barton
- My most recent single release - "My True North" - is now available on Bandcamp. Open my profile and click on "audio clip".
Sounds like fun!!!
ReplyDeleteI vote for National Immigrants Day as your best idea yet (although I love the fact that my garden is featured in the Gratitude Day post). We must never forget that we are a nation of immigrants and that our Irish, Italian, Polish, Chinese, etc. etc. etc. ancestors were all immigrants at one time. All clung together at first, speaking their own languages with their own people in the comfort of their own neighborhoods. And people who were already here denigrated them and were fearful of them, just as we are fearful of new immigrants today. Our blended culture is our country's strength, not its weakness. Celebrating a different immigrant population every day of August would be an amazing bonding experience and remind of our own beginnings in America. And the food would be AWESOME!
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased - but not at all surprised - this post spoke to you. If your civil words and reminder about the strength we derive from our differences were embraced by many more people, we'd be a healthier country.
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