Almost every day on the calendar is a holiday or observance. We love the big ones and the odd ones amuse us, they all enrich our lives in so many ways. Most festivities are as familiar as family and friends, and we embrace their time-honored traditions. Other festivities we observe are undeniably offbeat, but often, just as much fun to mark.
Traditional
Although its roots are no more American than Easter or Halloween, Christmas is our biggest celebration. These holidays are steeped in traditions, but they don’t have the original bang of the Fourth of July. It all started with our Declaration of Independence, and we have been lighting up the skies ever since.
Some observances are drawn from events that sadden us or make us proud or legal enactments that make this country great. But they are all part of our unique cultural heritage and blended into the rich fabric that unites us.
Uncommon
We gratefully embrace the history of holidays that predate our young country and our lives are richer for their celebrations. Still, the most unusual days on the calendar hold an undeniable appeal because they truly belong to us.
We love to celebrate, and we’ll do it at the drop of a hat or a fruitcake. It is impossible to pinpoint the origins of most quirky holidays, and that is part of their charm. Like us, they are marvelous mixtures of cultures and customs. They elevate the ordinary and celebrate the obscure.
March 26 represents the sum of their fascinating parts. So as we ponder, puzzle and laugh at all the unusual holidays on the calendar, join the fun, embrace the unique, and celebrate Make Up Your Own Holiday Day.
Epicurean
I am not going to tell you to forget about healthy eating guidelines or ignore your always-tasteful common sense. However, I am going to encourage you to celebrate one of my favorite things about exploring all things culinary – the deliciously fun world of food holidays.
National, regional, ethnic and native dishes are our favorite plates without borders. Enchilada Day spices up the calendar wherever you sit down for dinner. Southern Food Day brims over with fried and stewed comfort while Gazpacho Day lets us sing the praises of soup best served cold.
Homemade Soup Day might whisk you back to the warming aromas of your grandmother’s kitchen on a chilly afternoon. On Cold Cuts Day, you might be transported back to lazy spreads on springtime picnic blankets where you wonder out loud why there isn’t a Sandwich Day. Actually, there is.
We rejoice over slow-smoked meat on Barbecue Day, and we elevate white tablecloth dining to elegant heights on Prime Rib Day. As long as you’re just a bit crazy about living to eat instead of eating to live, you have a kindred appetite here who understands what it’s really like to love food.
Summary
There’s always more to the story. Traditional tales don’t always satisfy our curiosities or delight our imaginations. Our cultural richness is more than an assemblage of our varied backgrounds, and history is more than an accumulation of facts.
The inspiration for this unique site comes from wanting to know more about holidays and sharing my interpretations. It is a collection of shared traditions and individual experiences. So I invite you to come on in and settle down. Feel free to read, enjoy and be part of my home here at HolidayDispatch.
Join me in celebrating the stories that belong to all of us.
