The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

U.S. Holidays

The national U.S. holidays that we celebrate are a mishmash of days that have also lost much of their meaning to the general public.  I would propose a refashioning of these holidays that would commemorate the ideals of America. Before you begin your commemorations and celebrations, you should always remember and learn from our history of the meanings of these holidays. You should also cogitate on my Article “Condemned to Repeat It” as to the importance of remembering our history.

My list of new United States National Holidays is as follows:

• New Year’s Day - January 1st
  A day of hope and prayer that the new year will be better and more prosperous than the previous year. A day that all Americans should consider and plan their personal goals for the year. Also, a day of recovery for those who have partied too hard on the previous night to go to work.
• Civil Rights Day - Third Monday of January
  A day to remember the people and efforts of all those who peaceably worked to overcome racism, bigotry, and discrimination in the United States against the intolerance of those who would deny them their Civil Rights. Specifically, we should remember the racism, bigotry, and discrimination against the Negro, Women, Asian, Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Hispanic people.
• Presidents Day - Second Monday of February
  A day to remember the efforts, achievements, and failures of Presidents and their policies or positions, and the leadership or lack thereof they exhibited. Whether you agree or disagree with their policies or positions, or their leadership, you should remember the physical and emotional tolls of the Office of the President of the United States.
• Constitution Day - March 4th
  The day the 1^st United States Congress convened, and the United States government was formally under the rule of the Constitution. A day to consider and learn the importance of the Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and the other Constitutional Amendments, and its protections of our “Freedoms, Liberties, Equalities, and Equal Justice for All”.
• Capitalists Day - First Monday in May
  A Day to celebrate the efforts and sacrifices of Capitalists in their contributions to the development and achievements of the United States (see my Chirp on, “09/06/21 Capitalists Day”).
• Memorial Day - Last Monday of May
  A day to immortalize, honor, and remember the ultimate sacrifice of the service people who gave their lives in defense of our country.
• Independence Day - July 4th
  The day that we Americans formally declare our independence from Britain, that led to the self-rule of a people dedicated to Freedom, Liberty, Equality, and Equal Justice for All. Also, a day to remember the sacrifices in the death, limbs, disease, and destruction of all those who fought in the Revolutionary War.
• Labor Day - First Monday of September
  A day to remember the efforts of all those who work to provide for themselves, their families, and our society.
• Voting Day - The day of a General Election
  The day in which we formally participate in the democracy of the United States through elections. A day in which we remember that our government is “… of the people, by the people, for the people”.
• Veterans Day - Second Monday of November
  A day to honor the service of the men and women who gave a part of their life to defend our country. Many of these service people suffered injuries, disease, mental sickness, and hardships as a result of their service of our country that needs to be commemorated.
• Thanksgiving Day - Fourth Thursday of November
  A day to give thanks for our abundance and prosperity, and the joys and importance of family life in America.
• Abolition Day - December 6th
  A day to commemorate the formal end of slavery in the United States and the end of the greatest blot on American history. A day to remember the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, which enshrined Emancipation and the Freedoms and Liberties for all Americans. Also, a day to remember the sacrifices in the death, limbs, disease, and destruction of all those who fought in the Civil War to resolve the issue of slavery in the United States.
• Christmas Day - December 25th
  A day that is more than just the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. This day should also be the celebration of God and God’s impact on our lives. Whether you are Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, or any other denomination, you should celebrate the importance of God in our life on this day.

You may note that Columbus Day is not included in this list. My reason for doing so that this holiday does not commemorate an ideal of American, but only an event in our history. However, a State or Locality may decide to declare this a holiday as they see fit, as a State or Locality may decide to declare a holiday for any person or event as they see fit.