For every holiday that most people practiced in the U.S., people are really limited the things that they can do on that day comparing to a regular day. In some way, it could be special for that day because people are doing something different. But in the other hand, people are really just limited their freedom on that specific day. Also, when the holiday is a a day that the majority practice, it is hard to get away from it, because you will not fit in. So, holiday could really be good and bad. The way to look at it, is just really another choice for people to choose to live their life regardless of whether is good or bad, meaningful or meaningless.
Thanksgiving, a popular holiday that most Americans celebrate, it is a holiday that really limits the things you can do on that day. For the people who celebrate this holiday, you must have eat a lot on that day. Even though you are on a diet, this day is an exception. On Thanksgiving, the choice of food is limited too. Such as turkey, corn, pumpkin, mash potatoes...etc. and it is representing the harvest of the year. Perhaps, some food are being abandon on that specific holiday. For the dressing code, you might have to dress in a certain way looking nice in the dinner, looking different than you used to eat dinner. Which is making yourself more uncomfortable on this specific day, but also special in the other hand. It also contradicts itself because your family should appreciate and feel thankful about what they have, family is part of it regardless of how each other looks, but you have to dress up on that day to eat with your family. In addition, the participants on this holiday is only for families mostly, it is not a day that you should spend with your friends or any other. This holiday is basically teaching people that in order to have a good meaningful life, you should be with your family and have a peaceful dinner. Then everybody gather around and have a nice day together. But the part that it contradicts is that the conversation on the dinner is very limited. Such as bring up the thanksgiving is actually celebrating the Indians got killed by the Whites (genocide). A lot of things that you might want to share with your family, it might not be a good day to bring it up on a holiday in case you might be the one who have just ruin the day that everybody is expected to be happy. Another part that it contradicts is that this holiday tells you that sometimes is acceptable to leave your friends out, and family should be the number one on the obligation list. In other words, family is more important than friends.Therefore, when there is a holiday, people's daily actions might be twist a little and is absolutely limited.
Sometimes the popular holidays are really affecting the people who care because people will have high expectations on that day. Such as Christmas, people are planning and expecting a lot of things out of these holidays. Also, people who practiced these holidays, they will have to do something special for it. But in the other hand, it often does not meet people's expectations. People usually have a fantasy imagination on the holiday that they will celebrate and on the day the holiday comes, they are not as excited as they thought they will be. Therefore, holidays sometimes affect people's feelings and it often upsets them when they did not meet or get what they want. It is also like birthdays, people are expected to receives gifts and blow the candle on their birthday. But if it does not turn out to be how people imagine, people often get upset. In other words, people all attempt to have expectations and the fantasy illusion is always better than reality that turn out to be, so when the outcome is not gratifying to the people, they make themselves more disappointed. In addition, most of these illusions are from the media such as holiday movies and commercials.
Having holidays are not totally bad for people to live a good meaningful life even though it limits people's actions on that day. Since one year has 365 days, if everyday is just a regular day for people to follow their daily routine, they will be boredom at some point in the middle of the year. But having a special day that limits what you can do, it creates the fun for people. Even though that holiday has a meaning behind it such as relating to religious or history and some other things, it is good to have some holidays that people can practiced, so they can have a day living in a different way in 365 days. Holiday teaches people how to live a life differently other than just following the same routine every single day, this will make your life more meaningful because you did something different. It also tells us that we should try new things and learn how to accept the things that we never saw.
Although sometimes is hard to get everybody to practice the same holiday, it is not so bad to get involve in something. Sometimes people are celebrating the holiday but left out knowing the meaning behind it. I personally think that it is not so bad because you are trying to understand other people's culture. In addition, the meaning behind the holiday might not be really the real meaning why people are celebrating the holiday, too. A lot of holidays are based on history's special events, these holidays' meaning might not be really relevant in now a days. But since it is being pass to generations to generations, people is just keeping the culture values. Thus, the meaning of celebrating a holiday might not be really important as to get involve in the holiday. Celebrating a holiday does not really have to relate to the reasons why people celebrate it, it could just be how we see the holidays as the culture's values that is being past from back then to now.
In conclusion, holidays could be bad especially when you really don't want to celebrate it while everybody is. But having holidays are not necessary bad although it often relates to the corporate culture. Because people get to have a special day in 365 days that they can do something different. It is like a parent always controlling what kids can do and cannot do, but when you grow up and you are on your own, you miss how your parent used to plan the day for you. It is like the holiday that sometimes people should be limited so that they don't really have to think about what they have to do on that day. The holiday is like the parents that already tells you what to do and you just have to do what the holiday requires you to do. Therefore, having different holidays in these 365 days might not be as bad as people think comparing to living a life with 365 regular days every year.
No comments:
Post a Comment