Metatalktail Hour: If I Ran the Holidays June 20, 2021 11:03 AM Subscribe
It is a holiday-filled weekend in the US/UK with Bloomsday, Juneteenth, Father's Day and the Solstice all happening within a few days of each other, and all during Pride Month. So today, on National Hike With a Geek Day, I'd like to know what thing (commemoration, celebration, special event) would you like to make into a holiday? What would happen on that day? Who would it be for or about? Or would there be an existing holiday you'd reconfigure? Or do you have a personal holiday that you celebrate in your own way?
Feel free talk about just about anything else (except politics, natch). Hello!
Feel free talk about just about anything else (except politics, natch). Hello!
I would just be happy to stop getting sick for every holiday.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:23 AM on June 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:23 AM on June 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
International Car-Free Carefree Day. In which nobody drives and nobody has to worry about getting hit by a car and everyone frolicks in the streets and enjoys the clean air and sunshine. Some exceptions apply. This would, of course, be a 365 day a year holiday.
Once every four years, on Leap Year, everyone goes to their local Car Park to celebrate Motor Vehicle Day (it's like dinosaur day, only for cars) and rides the amusement cars at like 10 mph.
posted by aniola at 11:34 AM on June 20, 2021 [8 favorites]
Once every four years, on Leap Year, everyone goes to their local Car Park to celebrate Motor Vehicle Day (it's like dinosaur day, only for cars) and rides the amusement cars at like 10 mph.
posted by aniola at 11:34 AM on June 20, 2021 [8 favorites]
I would love to “reconfigure” the US Independence Day such that it is no longer celebrated with fireworks (by anyone, from individuals to cities).
posted by obfuscation at 11:43 AM on June 20, 2021 [11 favorites]
posted by obfuscation at 11:43 AM on June 20, 2021 [11 favorites]
My spouse's family has convinced me that solstice is a holiday worth celebrating. Winter is the big one, but summer is also notable. My personal take is, "cripes, we're half way through this unbearable, intolerable summer weather. Cheers! When is it fall? Why the hell isn't it fall already. Fuck summer! Sage is nice. Trees are cool. I hope I haven't offended you."
My personal pick is to make May Day a real holiday in the US. Labor Day is a distraction. (Cheers for Juneteenth, which is even more important.)
On the anything else topic, the first grad student I've advised just got their PhD on Friday. It's a thousand times more important for them than me, but I'm a bit surprised at how much I am moved by it. As someone who has chosen never to have kids, it's about as close to heritage as it gets. They're starting a really fantastic, PhD-research-related, non-academic job in two weeks that they're incredibly excited about; I have no reservations about being happy to see them graduate, though I will miss their contributions to the group.
posted by eotvos at 12:09 PM on June 20, 2021 [7 favorites]
My personal pick is to make May Day a real holiday in the US. Labor Day is a distraction. (Cheers for Juneteenth, which is even more important.)
On the anything else topic, the first grad student I've advised just got their PhD on Friday. It's a thousand times more important for them than me, but I'm a bit surprised at how much I am moved by it. As someone who has chosen never to have kids, it's about as close to heritage as it gets. They're starting a really fantastic, PhD-research-related, non-academic job in two weeks that they're incredibly excited about; I have no reservations about being happy to see them graduate, though I will miss their contributions to the group.
posted by eotvos at 12:09 PM on June 20, 2021 [7 favorites]
It's too hot and muggy to go hiking with myself today, but I do have the perfect shirt.
posted by fedward at 12:15 PM on June 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by fedward at 12:15 PM on June 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
I would make election day a national holiday, but that's too practical.
I'd declare holidays for cool astronomical events like total or annular solar eclipses or good meteor showers. BTW if you're in North America the Perseid meteor shower should be good this year, as the moon is only going to be 12% illuminated at peak and will be below the horizon for most of the night. I've already reserved a camp site.
posted by fedward at 12:23 PM on June 20, 2021 [7 favorites]
I'd declare holidays for cool astronomical events like total or annular solar eclipses or good meteor showers. BTW if you're in North America the Perseid meteor shower should be good this year, as the moon is only going to be 12% illuminated at peak and will be below the horizon for most of the night. I've already reserved a camp site.
posted by fedward at 12:23 PM on June 20, 2021 [7 favorites]
I have a regular set of idiosyncratic holidays that I celebrate which are usually the Solstices, Buy Nothing Day (the day after American Thanksgiving), May Day, Juneteenth, New Years, JIMSMAS (my partner and Other Jim do birthdays together) and my own birthday which is often near American Labor Day. I usually forget my anniversary, but we do something around that time. I ask for a card on Valentine's Day because my partner is great at making cards.
Halloween will usually see me in a costume. Xmas Eve will usually see me eating Chinese food with movies the next day. I try to remember the menorah. I pick up trash during Vermont's Green Up Day. Our town has a 4th of July parade that I usually go to. I have some friends who often invite me over to their Official Holiday celebrations (Usually Easter Supper and Passover, different families). We usually have some sort of a meal together on Thanksgiving. I do the Christmas Bird Count annually. Vermont's got some nice holidays like Walk to Work day or Button Up Day and I like those kinds of things. There was a holiday one year that was all about meeting your neighbors.
I share the desire for American election day to be some sort of holiday. Canada has Civic Holiday which I've always liked.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:52 PM on June 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
Halloween will usually see me in a costume. Xmas Eve will usually see me eating Chinese food with movies the next day. I try to remember the menorah. I pick up trash during Vermont's Green Up Day. Our town has a 4th of July parade that I usually go to. I have some friends who often invite me over to their Official Holiday celebrations (Usually Easter Supper and Passover, different families). We usually have some sort of a meal together on Thanksgiving. I do the Christmas Bird Count annually. Vermont's got some nice holidays like Walk to Work day or Button Up Day and I like those kinds of things. There was a holiday one year that was all about meeting your neighbors.
I share the desire for American election day to be some sort of holiday. Canada has Civic Holiday which I've always liked.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:52 PM on June 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
June is the month when I celebrate how many years it's been since someone could force me to play a sport. 41!!!
posted by JanetLand at 12:59 PM on June 20, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by JanetLand at 12:59 PM on June 20, 2021 [9 favorites]
Moon Day, July 20, should be the Day of Fireworks (especially rockets), and patriotic pride in the 1969 peak of USA achievement.
posted by Rash at 1:14 PM on June 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Rash at 1:14 PM on June 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
When I was 8 or 9 or so, I invented a holiday. It was on January 13 and it was called Robin's Day. The festivities consisted of the following:
- try to get to see a robin on that day
- bake a special bird-shaped pancake and use jam for the red breast
- contemplate the nature of the robin and try to draw some life lessons from that. Mostly about peace. The robin is a pretty fierce little bastard, us people should look into that mirror so to speak, and learn to do better.
What can I say, I was very young.
I made some special flyers explaining all of this and handed them out to my bemused classmates.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:38 PM on June 20, 2021 [25 favorites]
- try to get to see a robin on that day
- bake a special bird-shaped pancake and use jam for the red breast
- contemplate the nature of the robin and try to draw some life lessons from that. Mostly about peace. The robin is a pretty fierce little bastard, us people should look into that mirror so to speak, and learn to do better.
What can I say, I was very young.
I made some special flyers explaining all of this and handed them out to my bemused classmates.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:38 PM on June 20, 2021 [25 favorites]
I celebrate The Day the First Crocus Blooms. After a long winter of seeing mostly browns and grays, and after the cheap desperation of all that phony (yet lovely) electric and plastic Christmas color has faded, seeing that first little splash of natural color makes my heart happy. Sometimes it coincides with my birthday, which is extra cool.
posted by Corvid at 2:23 PM on June 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Corvid at 2:23 PM on June 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
The 1st really warm sunny day in Maine should be a holiday. The US needs a holiday in May or April; winter is long and we need a break. Maybe Earth Day (April 2o-somehting) should be a Federal holiday, celebrated by picking up litter, taking the recycling in, returning returnable bottles, re-stocking re-usable grocery bags). I went out to water my tomato plants and the air was so warm, the driveway hot on my feet, it was great. It got warmer, but a fan on low is keeping me comfortable.
Robin's Day in Maine is in April, and the robins nested under the deck, as usual, yelling at me if I wanted to use the downstairs door. It sounds like swearing and makes me smile; I try to not aggravate them; they've lived here longer than I have.
Happy Belated Birthday, Taz! I'd send you a card if you send me your address and tell me what postage to use.
posted by theora55 at 2:40 PM on June 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
Robin's Day in Maine is in April, and the robins nested under the deck, as usual, yelling at me if I wanted to use the downstairs door. It sounds like swearing and makes me smile; I try to not aggravate them; they've lived here longer than I have.
Happy Belated Birthday, Taz! I'd send you a card if you send me your address and tell me what postage to use.
posted by theora55 at 2:40 PM on June 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
Buy Nothing Day (the day after American Thanksgiving)
Or as I call it, Beige Friday.
I always find the bunched-up Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year's holidays to be kind of a party whirlwind...followed by not much of anything for months afterward. I agree with theora55 that it would be nice to add a couple more long-weekend holidays, ideally with an emphasis on social get-togethers, to span the gaps - perhaps timed to coincide with pleasant weather in the spring and early fall.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:50 PM on June 20, 2021
Or as I call it, Beige Friday.
I always find the bunched-up Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year's holidays to be kind of a party whirlwind...followed by not much of anything for months afterward. I agree with theora55 that it would be nice to add a couple more long-weekend holidays, ideally with an emphasis on social get-togethers, to span the gaps - perhaps timed to coincide with pleasant weather in the spring and early fall.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:50 PM on June 20, 2021
Mr. eirias used to celebrate Flag Day by decorating crackers to look like flags and serving them to Little eirias for breakfast. Cream cheese + a cherry for Japan, e.g. They both got such a kick out of this. I'm sure they'd still be doing it if not for the "what even is time" quality of the pandemic. Maybe next year.
posted by eirias at 2:52 PM on June 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by eirias at 2:52 PM on June 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
theora55: celebrated by picking up litter, taking the recycling in, returning returnable bottles, re-stocking re-usable grocery bags
The perfect Earth Day gift: something that helps save materials and avoid waste. Such as handmade re-usable grocery bags, ideally made from leftover or preused materials.
I was given one of those inflatable lounger/seat thingies that are just a big bag folded over with the ends rolled up and then connected. They are a plastic bag inside a ripstop nylon fabric bag. Once the plastic bag is pierced and leaks, you can basically throw them out... or give them to me which is what happened here. Great material for homemade grocery bags! I use broken luggage straps for the handles.
Another option: tea lights made from old candles and candle ends, without the aluminium cups. Meant to be used inside a glass cup. (Do US Americans even use tea lights to keep their tea hot?)
Or plants that have been grown from seeds. Plants that give edible fruit are fun! Hot peppers are easy to grow from the seeds you'd normally eat, or chuck out.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:03 PM on June 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
The perfect Earth Day gift: something that helps save materials and avoid waste. Such as handmade re-usable grocery bags, ideally made from leftover or preused materials.
I was given one of those inflatable lounger/seat thingies that are just a big bag folded over with the ends rolled up and then connected. They are a plastic bag inside a ripstop nylon fabric bag. Once the plastic bag is pierced and leaks, you can basically throw them out... or give them to me which is what happened here. Great material for homemade grocery bags! I use broken luggage straps for the handles.
Another option: tea lights made from old candles and candle ends, without the aluminium cups. Meant to be used inside a glass cup. (Do US Americans even use tea lights to keep their tea hot?)
Or plants that have been grown from seeds. Plants that give edible fruit are fun! Hot peppers are easy to grow from the seeds you'd normally eat, or chuck out.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:03 PM on June 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
A Spousal Day, of course, where people can marry people of legal age for one day, for help with small silly tasks or just a good time.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:05 PM on June 20, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:05 PM on June 20, 2021 [4 favorites]
(Do US Americans even use tea lights to keep their tea hot?)
The only way I (American) have ever seen them used is as low-level mood lighting, often with a few of them distributed around the area to be thus lit.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:30 PM on June 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
The only way I (American) have ever seen them used is as low-level mood lighting, often with a few of them distributed around the area to be thus lit.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:30 PM on June 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
I did not know tea lights had anything to do with tea.
posted by aniola at 3:52 PM on June 20, 2021 [12 favorites]
posted by aniola at 3:52 PM on June 20, 2021 [12 favorites]
I used to celebrate the first day everyone would wear shorts on the lake shore path / ladies would wear sundresses in Chicago. So many legs and butts!
posted by Uncle at 4:08 PM on June 20, 2021
posted by Uncle at 4:08 PM on June 20, 2021
I'd make Opening Day for MLB a national holiday.
1. Baseball!
2. Most of us go from Jan 1 to Memorial Day without a free day off. Dropping one in early April actually makes a lot of sense, so why not opening day?
posted by COD at 5:32 PM on June 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
1. Baseball!
2. Most of us go from Jan 1 to Memorial Day without a free day off. Dropping one in early April actually makes a lot of sense, so why not opening day?
posted by COD at 5:32 PM on June 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
The Australian 'national' day is 26 January, the day of the landing of the First Fleet in Sydney (i.e. the beginning of colonisation), which has always been pretty spicy as a commemoration but these days has majority support to change it. Good, speed the day. I have always held that 28 March should be the new national holiday, commemorating the 1982 first home match of the Sydney Swans, and the inauguration of a truly national football competition, where before there had been only parochial state-based leagues.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:49 PM on June 20, 2021
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:49 PM on June 20, 2021
I have seen tea lights used for their intended drink purpose- at a fancy chocolate café, used to keep the mug of hot chocolate appropriately liquid, because it was mostly just melted chocolate. (It was yum but sooo rich. A bit too much.)
Yay Solstice! I don't know whether it is my celtic roots, my science nerdery, or what, but I love the winter solstice. (Southern hemisphere here). It is of course San Juan, which means/meant bonfires and fireworks, when I was growing up in Bolivia (I think environmentally they have shifted the tradition- the smoke on the day after was incredible- flights cancelled kind of level.) I love watching the sun walk across the horizon across many months (as much as this phrase is hated on online dating apparently, I do chase sunsets.) Proof the planet is tilted. I love the fact that even though we still have July and August of winter to go, from this point on, the days are getting longer. (there is a bit of mourning that the days are getting shorter at the summer solstice- I prefer the winter one.) It's like a "it can't get worse from here" kind of day. I was hoping there would be a metatalk thread to YAY SOLSTICE in.
Today is also "hooray my daughter only woke ONE TIME last night" day, a big first for our family! Here's to ZERO TIMES being not too far away.
Other Holidays- I really love día de la peatón (pedestrian day) - which in googling for the correct accents I've just discovered is an international day- 17th of August. I have really fond memories of biking along the highway, with hundreds if not thousands of other people taking over the road with bikes, scooters and of course two feet. It was a special dad/daughter date where we cycled into town and bought icecream. I love the 'nope, we're shutting everything down, no cars.'
posted by freethefeet at 5:59 PM on June 20, 2021 [10 favorites]
Yay Solstice! I don't know whether it is my celtic roots, my science nerdery, or what, but I love the winter solstice. (Southern hemisphere here). It is of course San Juan, which means/meant bonfires and fireworks, when I was growing up in Bolivia (I think environmentally they have shifted the tradition- the smoke on the day after was incredible- flights cancelled kind of level.) I love watching the sun walk across the horizon across many months (as much as this phrase is hated on online dating apparently, I do chase sunsets.) Proof the planet is tilted. I love the fact that even though we still have July and August of winter to go, from this point on, the days are getting longer. (there is a bit of mourning that the days are getting shorter at the summer solstice- I prefer the winter one.) It's like a "it can't get worse from here" kind of day. I was hoping there would be a metatalk thread to YAY SOLSTICE in.
Today is also "hooray my daughter only woke ONE TIME last night" day, a big first for our family! Here's to ZERO TIMES being not too far away.
Other Holidays- I really love día de la peatón (pedestrian day) - which in googling for the correct accents I've just discovered is an international day- 17th of August. I have really fond memories of biking along the highway, with hundreds if not thousands of other people taking over the road with bikes, scooters and of course two feet. It was a special dad/daughter date where we cycled into town and bought icecream. I love the 'nope, we're shutting everything down, no cars.'
posted by freethefeet at 5:59 PM on June 20, 2021 [10 favorites]
Gamma Ray Burst Day, also referred to as Doomsday.
...this would be observed on the date that the current-closest gamma ray burst was detected -- iirc, at present that would be April 15th, marking the recording of GRB 200415A. Any closer burst event would re-set the date to whenever that event was recorded.
It would be observed by shutting down any non-critical electrical system for at least one hour (at the utility scale, where possible, so individuals have no choice but to observe the outage, but people on "Medical Supply" plans and the like would be unaffected) as a mark of respect to the biosphere(s) we just saw get extinguished.
Kinda keeping an eye on the scales of life and death, as it were, rather than our ludicrously petty concerns.
posted by aramaic at 6:07 PM on June 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
...this would be observed on the date that the current-closest gamma ray burst was detected -- iirc, at present that would be April 15th, marking the recording of GRB 200415A. Any closer burst event would re-set the date to whenever that event was recorded.
It would be observed by shutting down any non-critical electrical system for at least one hour (at the utility scale, where possible, so individuals have no choice but to observe the outage, but people on "Medical Supply" plans and the like would be unaffected) as a mark of respect to the biosphere(s) we just saw get extinguished.
Kinda keeping an eye on the scales of life and death, as it were, rather than our ludicrously petty concerns.
posted by aramaic at 6:07 PM on June 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
I really want to adopt the British tradition of bank holidays, which are days when everything closes down just so everyone can have a day off. I think we need more holidays where you don't feel like you should be honoring anything or commemorating anything or like maybe your cookout is insulting the war dead or being too patriotic or not patriotic enough. It's just "the weather is often nice this time of year, so let's all have a three-day weekend and enjoy doing whatever we enjoy doing."
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:43 PM on June 20, 2021 [15 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:43 PM on June 20, 2021 [15 favorites]
It's still the beginning of a long dreary winter in Sydney, and there are no public holidays until October in NSW. I would like an excuse to take a day off and cook a roast. In true Australian fashion, I do not care about the reason for the public holiday, I just want a day off at the end of July please.
posted by kjs4 at 6:55 PM on June 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by kjs4 at 6:55 PM on June 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
i love holidays, when i was xian, i did all of the liturgical ones (Ascension! Corpus Christi! Various saints days)
Now I do:
New Years
My birthday (Jan 14)
National Aboriginal Day
Shrove (because Feb is miserable)
National Coming Out Day
Autistic Pride Day
National Day of Mourning for Disability People
Halloween
Some kind of Xmas Eggnog Party
I also do something for pride, and celebrate my friends and my friends kids bday, and first ice cream from the truck during the summer
posted by PinkMoose at 7:30 PM on June 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
Now I do:
New Years
My birthday (Jan 14)
National Aboriginal Day
Shrove (because Feb is miserable)
National Coming Out Day
Autistic Pride Day
National Day of Mourning for Disability People
Halloween
Some kind of Xmas Eggnog Party
I also do something for pride, and celebrate my friends and my friends kids bday, and first ice cream from the truck during the summer
posted by PinkMoose at 7:30 PM on June 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
I really love día de la peatón (pedestrian day)
posted by freethefeet
Well, you've clearly got a vested (socked?) interest in it...
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:50 PM on June 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by freethefeet
Well, you've clearly got a vested (socked?) interest in it...
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:50 PM on June 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
Halloween should be a National Holiday were tea lights are placed outside and we just put the Brown Betty in the microwave for a re-warm and drape the tea cozy on a prominent door knob watching nothing but Hammer films.
posted by clavdivs at 8:13 PM on June 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 8:13 PM on June 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
Darwinday! Charles Darwin b 12 February 1809. I picked up on this ~1980 when Salem State College/University MA started their, still going, symposium series. The following year, I made a slab pizza for work with a map of the Galapagos Islands in cheese [not a success - obsessive detail slumped in the melting]. Since then it's been mostly donuts. The timing is good: 6-7 weeks to allow recovery from The Holidays but still Wintery enough [in the N hemisphere] that a bit of a party boosts morale.
posted by BobTheScientist at 10:57 PM on June 20, 2021
posted by BobTheScientist at 10:57 PM on June 20, 2021
In my house we’d vote for Crane Day. One day in mid to late April every year the sandhill cranes come back to the marsh behind the house yelling their heads off and thinking about sex and nesting. We are very excited when it happens.
Currently we celebrate by marveling constantly about how loud they are and making crane noises to ourselves and peeping on them with binoculars and maybe cooking on the grill so we can really enjoy them with an excuse to be outside, but I would also enjoy a hyper-local holiday with a surprise day off from school. Everyone could color pictures of cranes and talk about how they are basically dinosaurs and discuss their migratory patterns and maybe there would be a crane-call contest.
Every location could do this for their preferred migratory bird! We all could use a spring holiday; the 4th quarter of the school year is otherwise a cheerless blocky slog of testing and garbage.
posted by charmedimsure at 11:17 PM on June 20, 2021 [8 favorites]
Currently we celebrate by marveling constantly about how loud they are and making crane noises to ourselves and peeping on them with binoculars and maybe cooking on the grill so we can really enjoy them with an excuse to be outside, but I would also enjoy a hyper-local holiday with a surprise day off from school. Everyone could color pictures of cranes and talk about how they are basically dinosaurs and discuss their migratory patterns and maybe there would be a crane-call contest.
Every location could do this for their preferred migratory bird! We all could use a spring holiday; the 4th quarter of the school year is otherwise a cheerless blocky slog of testing and garbage.
posted by charmedimsure at 11:17 PM on June 20, 2021 [8 favorites]
I love the idea of Crane Day. Or any holiday that makes me more aware of what's happening in the natural world around me, just where I am.
posted by Zumbador at 5:20 AM on June 21, 2021
posted by Zumbador at 5:20 AM on June 21, 2021
I would like to make it mandatory to celebrate the birthday or gotcha day of every pet, so that every day I can see pictures of critters in small hats eating pet safe cake. And yes, businesses are required to grant employees paid leave for pet celebration, obviously.
posted by phunniemee at 8:19 AM on June 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 8:19 AM on June 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
I would vote for a non-religious version of something like my (romanticized and half-remembered and probably only half-taught to begin with from Catholic grammar school Religion class) conception of Yom Kippur. Forgiveness Day or Hug-It-Out Day or We're Cool Day, where if you knew you blew it over the last year you can reach out to whoever you did wrong and honestly say that you are sorry and will try to do better. And the other person doesn't HAVE to hug it out with you but at least they know that the spirit of the day is that you'll give the other guy a little grace and understand that we are all doing our best out here and that it's better to acknowledge when we messed up than to double down and be jerks about it. (Sorry, Jeff. I shoulda handled that differently.)
posted by AgentRocket at 8:24 AM on June 21, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by AgentRocket at 8:24 AM on June 21, 2021 [4 favorites]
We should turn that weird week from Christmas into New Year's Day into a week-long holiday. Just go chill with it - no specific rituals, maybe turn it into the time when you make your round of visits to extended families so no one has to get into conflicts about "are we spending Christmas with my family or yours this year". Or, just....not be at work.
In other news I got approved for a new apartment and we sign the lease on Wednesday and while it's a good apartment I'm right now dealing with how my fear of change is making me feel like I want to throw up please send help
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:03 PM on June 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
In other news I got approved for a new apartment and we sign the lease on Wednesday and while it's a good apartment I'm right now dealing with how my fear of change is making me feel like I want to throw up please send help
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:03 PM on June 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
Oh and in case you like nice internet ways to ring in the Solstice, I have a pal (who is also on here but I don't know if he combines MeFi and real life) who does a Solstice thing and has for fifteen years. Weather permitting he and his partner go catch the sunrise and they email out a picture of it, and a poem and a song, sending the link out with a very short email telling what the sunrise was like (good for people like me who never see it). Here's the one they sent for this Solstice.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 2:13 PM on June 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 2:13 PM on June 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
Forgiveness Day or Hug-It-Out Day or We're Cool Day, where if you knew you blew it over the last year you can reach out to whoever you did wrong and honestly say that you are sorry and will try to do better. And the other person doesn't HAVE to hug it out with you but at least they know that the spirit of the day is that you'll give the other guy a little grace and understand that we are all doing our best out here and that it's better to acknowledge when we messed up than to double down and be jerks about it. (Sorry, Jeff. I shoulda handled that differently.)
posted by AgentRocket at 10:24 AM on June 21
I love this. For myself I could use one of these probably every week, at least every month -- "Sorry, I really am -- I don't know how to do life and stuff, please forgive if I got something left-handed, plus, if you're left-handed and don't like that I use it that way please know it's nothing personal, I like both your hands just fine, plus your feet, too -- I think they're swell." One of my favorite books, The Killer Angels, characterizes General George Pickett as a person who sortof went through life apologizing to pretty much everybody every so often; I read that and smiled with recognition.
~~~
I wrote about my least favorite and my favorite holiday in a MetaTalk late November 2019, it's long-winded but hey. As follows:
I don't give a rats ass about Christmas, one way or the other. Obviously it can't be avoided, not if you live here in the states -- it's this forced chaotic madness, it's this disgusting, phantasmagorical, blended vomit of Jesus and santa and chestnuts on an open fire and lame-ass movies and wise men and credit cards and consumer lunacy and beautiful, beautiful lights (but one hell of a lot more ugly ones -- here in Austin for a period of about ten years the city festooned some garbage on the streetlights downtown, I think it was supposed to look like golden ribbons but I honestly could not say, I can say and will say that it would have looked a lot better had they just dangled filthy, shit-encrusted toilets, maybe wrapped with blinking colored lights, a speaker inside each of them blaring out some asshole rendition "Oh Little Town of Bethleham" by Miley Cyrus or some other mope) on and on it goes, in every store an aluminum tree (wtf?) or, worse, a fake "pine" tree covered with ornaments and candy canes and no one -- No one! -- has any idea how any of this jive started, aside from some horses-ass, bitty religious sect wanting to symbolically celebrate the birth of spirit and now, 2000 years later, we get Miley Cyrus and Santa Claus.
What. The. Fuck.
But! As I said, I don't give a rats ass, one way or another. I walk through it, A Free Man, celebrating my very favorite holiday, December 21st, The Winter Solstice. It's *my* celebration of *my* favorite holday, it's my New Years Eve, it's my Christmas, it's the day that I dig. I'll go to a coffee shop, with a laptop or even a pen (Pilot G-2 10 black ink) and that zippered leather legal pad holder and I'll suck down some coffee, maybe I'll get caught up in the fun of the holiday and eat some sugared treat, hopefully they'll have some good pie and Amy's mexican bean ice cream, which could pretty much make any day a holiday, in my book. I'll maybe write a letter, or maybe not -- it's my holiday, and free-form -- and I'll sit back and drink the lightest roast coffee they've got on hand, and then I'll likely get another cup, too, because I can.
Hopefully it won't be a cold day but even if it is, being as I'm from yankeeland I know what real cold is I'll smile inwardly, and pretend that I'm cold, and dress the part even -- I've got these ridiculously dorky striped socks (I'm wearing them right now, and happy about it) that I like ever so much, they're thin but remember, it's not really cold here, they're plenty thick enough. I've got this blue flannel plaid shirt which I've had since 1985 and it's super high quality and looks brand new, and I've got two gorgeous, heavy wool sweaters which I bought that same day, and probably I'll choose the blue one, and some jeans, and my black Sundowners (either of which small people could live in -- I've got these huge honkin' feet; I'm plenty tall but I'd be *really* tall if I hadn't had so much turned under) and I've got a bunch of wool scarves to choose from, which I have no idea where they came from; I'm somehow a person that finds wool scarves.* I look like a lumber-jack, I swear like a sailor, I pray on my knees, I love dirty jokes, and clean ones, too, I'm sometimes happy and sometimes not, I'm fit as I can reasonably expect, or even unreasoably expect; I still ride that mountain bike every day and I've got this push-up thing going now, to boot.
*Myself, I'd rather it had been girlfriends that I somehow casually found, instead of scarves, but here I am, ten after 5 AM, writing on MetaFilter, and looking out my door I don't see one woman. Not one! No scarves, either.
I have no idea how I wrote myself into this corner, wool scarves, no women outside etc. And no idea how to write my way out, either.
Let's see what happens...
posted by dancestoblue at 6:54 PM on June 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by AgentRocket at 10:24 AM on June 21
I love this. For myself I could use one of these probably every week, at least every month -- "Sorry, I really am -- I don't know how to do life and stuff, please forgive if I got something left-handed, plus, if you're left-handed and don't like that I use it that way please know it's nothing personal, I like both your hands just fine, plus your feet, too -- I think they're swell." One of my favorite books, The Killer Angels, characterizes General George Pickett as a person who sortof went through life apologizing to pretty much everybody every so often; I read that and smiled with recognition.
~~~
I wrote about my least favorite and my favorite holiday in a MetaTalk late November 2019, it's long-winded but hey. As follows:
I don't give a rats ass about Christmas, one way or the other. Obviously it can't be avoided, not if you live here in the states -- it's this forced chaotic madness, it's this disgusting, phantasmagorical, blended vomit of Jesus and santa and chestnuts on an open fire and lame-ass movies and wise men and credit cards and consumer lunacy and beautiful, beautiful lights (but one hell of a lot more ugly ones -- here in Austin for a period of about ten years the city festooned some garbage on the streetlights downtown, I think it was supposed to look like golden ribbons but I honestly could not say, I can say and will say that it would have looked a lot better had they just dangled filthy, shit-encrusted toilets, maybe wrapped with blinking colored lights, a speaker inside each of them blaring out some asshole rendition "Oh Little Town of Bethleham" by Miley Cyrus or some other mope) on and on it goes, in every store an aluminum tree (wtf?) or, worse, a fake "pine" tree covered with ornaments and candy canes and no one -- No one! -- has any idea how any of this jive started, aside from some horses-ass, bitty religious sect wanting to symbolically celebrate the birth of spirit and now, 2000 years later, we get Miley Cyrus and Santa Claus.
What. The. Fuck.
But! As I said, I don't give a rats ass, one way or another. I walk through it, A Free Man, celebrating my very favorite holiday, December 21st, The Winter Solstice. It's *my* celebration of *my* favorite holday, it's my New Years Eve, it's my Christmas, it's the day that I dig. I'll go to a coffee shop, with a laptop or even a pen (Pilot G-2 10 black ink) and that zippered leather legal pad holder and I'll suck down some coffee, maybe I'll get caught up in the fun of the holiday and eat some sugared treat, hopefully they'll have some good pie and Amy's mexican bean ice cream, which could pretty much make any day a holiday, in my book. I'll maybe write a letter, or maybe not -- it's my holiday, and free-form -- and I'll sit back and drink the lightest roast coffee they've got on hand, and then I'll likely get another cup, too, because I can.
Hopefully it won't be a cold day but even if it is, being as I'm from yankeeland I know what real cold is I'll smile inwardly, and pretend that I'm cold, and dress the part even -- I've got these ridiculously dorky striped socks (I'm wearing them right now, and happy about it) that I like ever so much, they're thin but remember, it's not really cold here, they're plenty thick enough. I've got this blue flannel plaid shirt which I've had since 1985 and it's super high quality and looks brand new, and I've got two gorgeous, heavy wool sweaters which I bought that same day, and probably I'll choose the blue one, and some jeans, and my black Sundowners (either of which small people could live in -- I've got these huge honkin' feet; I'm plenty tall but I'd be *really* tall if I hadn't had so much turned under) and I've got a bunch of wool scarves to choose from, which I have no idea where they came from; I'm somehow a person that finds wool scarves.* I look like a lumber-jack, I swear like a sailor, I pray on my knees, I love dirty jokes, and clean ones, too, I'm sometimes happy and sometimes not, I'm fit as I can reasonably expect, or even unreasoably expect; I still ride that mountain bike every day and I've got this push-up thing going now, to boot.
*Myself, I'd rather it had been girlfriends that I somehow casually found, instead of scarves, but here I am, ten after 5 AM, writing on MetaFilter, and looking out my door I don't see one woman. Not one! No scarves, either.
I have no idea how I wrote myself into this corner, wool scarves, no women outside etc. And no idea how to write my way out, either.
Let's see what happens...
posted by dancestoblue at 6:54 PM on June 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
I know a guy whose middle name is Holiday. When asked why, his mother said, because everybody loves a holiday. Sounds about right.
For reasons mainly around divorce, my kids and I celebrate Solstice. Neither my ex or I are particularly religious. We are both culturally Jewish. She wanted to have the kids for Christmas. I opted for Thanksgiving. Since she had them on Christmas, I turned Solstice into our holiday of celebrating a new beginning, volunteering at a local shelter handing out meals and socks, and exchanging small thoughtful gifts.
The other holiday I celebrate with my kids is April Fool's Day. When they were very young, I had them convince that the 'holiday' was created to celebrate me and our family. We generally have cake and pull small pranks on each other like putting a pin hole in the paper cup and watching whoever gets that cup realize their drink is slowly leaking all over the table and into their lap.
I generally hate the commercialism of most holidays. Memorial Day and Veteran's Day are meaningful in that I have a child in the military and relatives who have died while serving. I like Arbor Day because TREES! Sadly, I think most people don't even know the meaning behind a lot of holidays we celebrate. Most are grateful of the day off from work, but have no idea why.
posted by AugustWest at 11:10 PM on June 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
For reasons mainly around divorce, my kids and I celebrate Solstice. Neither my ex or I are particularly religious. We are both culturally Jewish. She wanted to have the kids for Christmas. I opted for Thanksgiving. Since she had them on Christmas, I turned Solstice into our holiday of celebrating a new beginning, volunteering at a local shelter handing out meals and socks, and exchanging small thoughtful gifts.
The other holiday I celebrate with my kids is April Fool's Day. When they were very young, I had them convince that the 'holiday' was created to celebrate me and our family. We generally have cake and pull small pranks on each other like putting a pin hole in the paper cup and watching whoever gets that cup realize their drink is slowly leaking all over the table and into their lap.
I generally hate the commercialism of most holidays. Memorial Day and Veteran's Day are meaningful in that I have a child in the military and relatives who have died while serving. I like Arbor Day because TREES! Sadly, I think most people don't even know the meaning behind a lot of holidays we celebrate. Most are grateful of the day off from work, but have no idea why.
posted by AugustWest at 11:10 PM on June 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
A little late, but one might note that this weekend also included National Vanilla Milkshake Day (June 20). Which I celebrate every year, because I live right near a place that makes the perfect vanilla milkshake, with homemade ice cream and local milk and whipped cream with very little sweetener in it (this last is what absolutely makes it, IMHO). My spouse worked a double shift on Sunday so could not join me this year, but I was in no way giving up my Milkshake Day, even among all the other holidays.
posted by dlugoczaj at 11:50 AM on June 22, 2021
posted by dlugoczaj at 11:50 AM on June 22, 2021
I know a guy whose middle name is Holiday. When asked why, his mother said, because everybody loves a holiday.
I love it, it's basically tied for first with naming your kid so that they can say, "Danger is my middle name."
posted by rhizome at 4:41 PM on June 22, 2021
I love it, it's basically tied for first with naming your kid so that they can say, "Danger is my middle name."
posted by rhizome at 4:41 PM on June 22, 2021
BTW, in case anybody's been pining for obscure Metafilter-adjacent merch, I have a thing for Minor League Baseball team names and I came across this one today: https://milbstore.com/collections/burlington-sock-puppets
posted by rhizome at 4:50 PM on June 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 4:50 PM on June 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
If I ruled the world, the last day of the year would be Jubilee Day and all debts would be forgiven. Everyone would start fresh and free in the new year. I personally celebrate Bob Marley's birthday on Feb 6 and Haile Selassie's birthday on July 23 (it's complicated). Also Yule for half of December while trying to ignore Crissmus.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 4:58 PM on June 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by a humble nudibranch at 4:58 PM on June 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
Bicycle Day - April 19th. For anyone who would like to enjoy psychoactive substances of their choice.
posted by gingerbeer at 11:44 PM on June 23, 2021
posted by gingerbeer at 11:44 PM on June 23, 2021
On the last day of every month, my wife and I pour a glass of armagnac and do The Toast to various aspects of our lives - discuss what happened, and what's coming up and toast their success. While it's settled down to be mostly the same seven subjects each month, it's quite good to catch up, to have an idea of what's coming up and mark the turn of the month (otherwise time is liable to get away from one somewhat). We have a bundle of fifteen years of index cards on which the Toasts have been inscribed. It's quite a lot of index cards.
(It's also a very good excuse to drink armagnac.)
posted by Grangousier at 2:37 PM on June 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
(It's also a very good excuse to drink armagnac.)
posted by Grangousier at 2:37 PM on June 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
I would like a refresh day. Could be after a typical holiday, or not. Just a day, where everyone gets refresh. Said something bad, did something bad, got drunk and did a bad thing, whatever it is, just you get a refresh day, and it's all wiped clean.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 10:12 PM on June 25, 2021
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 10:12 PM on June 25, 2021
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posted by taz (staff) at 11:22 AM on June 20, 2021 [20 favorites]