Soapbox of Perception - a Special Day

I have a question for you.  Why do many schools & places of business close on Easter, Thanksgiving & Christmas, yet stay open for other holidays?  What special qualities do these three holidays have which the others lack?

Thanksgiving is an American holiday.  But so is the 4th of July.  And both involve food.

Easter and Christmas are based on religious holidays.  But so is Halloween.   Valentine's & St. Patrick's Day are religious in origin also.  They all involve food.

Of course, to be fair, most of the holidays involve food.  Or some form of party.

And the retail market will grab any special day to make an extra sale, so we'll take that out of the equation also.

Easter and Christmas are family holidays.  So is Thanksgiving.  So is Mother's Day and Father's Day.  And so is Halloween (remembering our ancestors).  And Memorial Day.

Easter and Christmas involve gifts and games for children.  Thanksgiving involves games for adults - of both sexes, as more women are showing their preference for watching football to cleaning up the kitchen.  New Year's often involves games (often not suitable for children).  Halloween involves games for young and old, and gifts for children.  Though I'm not sure it counts as a gift, if it is demanded.

Easter and Christmas often involve dressing children up in adorable outfits.  So does Halloween.  In fact, on Halloween, many adults dress up in outfits, though adorable isn't always the adjective to be used.

In fact, going by these statistics, if any holiday is going to be honored by having stores closed for it, Halloween has more in common with Easter and Christmas than Thanksgiving does.  Halloween is  a family oriented holiday based on religion which involves the giving and receiving of gifts.  There's a lot of food, games and parties, and adorable outfits.  We pretend it's for the children.

And when it comes to home decorating, Halloween is the only day which gives Christmas a run for its money.  Or would that be the reverse?

In fact, Halloween is probably the real biggest Holiday we still celebrate together.   It's the one Holiday where the whole community can choose to be involved without needing a specific invitation or affiliation.  Just leave your light on!

So now my question is, when are we going to start closing the stores and businesses for Halloween?

I hope you had a great day off, if a day off you had.

-Lila