To Celebrate is Up for Debate
As a kid I celebrated Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve and Day, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, Easter, my birthday--does that count?--Martin Luther Kind Jr Day, and I'm sure some other days...but, of course, the most important was my birthday.
I only kid--although it did often fall on MLK Day, which is rather important.
Today, it seems as though there is total outrage over any and all holidays. Halloween is the devil's birthday and an excuse to celebrate deep darkness that we should never speak of. Valentine's Day is cheesy, and there's no point in buying overpriced chocolate and flowers when you can show someone you love them just the same on the 13th or the 15th of February for a fraction of the cost. Christmas isn't even Jesus' real birthday, and there's no point in celebrating since it's all about the money. The 4th of July shouldn't be celebrated by Blacks since we weren't free until nearly one hundred years later on June 19th, 1865.
To an extent, I understand why folks are turning their backs on traditional American holidays. People are "waking up," learning the truth about what they were once blind to, and sometimes the truth is ugly. However, we have to draw the line somewhere. I'd argue that most if not all holidays have some sort of ugly past. Many were rooted in capitalism and greed (hint hint: Black Friday...my least favorite "holiday"). Others honor events that were great for some but not for all--the 4th of July, for instance. America was freed from British rule, but Blacks were not free in America. As time went on, actually, many were not free in America. Even Memorial Day could be considered controversial if we really thought about it--are we going to stop celebrating those who fought for our country because they fought in a war we didn't agree with? Or because we don't agree with what's going on now in our country? But wouldn't that be disrespectful to those who fought and died for us, even if they themselves may not have agreed?
For me, all holidays meant time to spend with family over good food and good music. No, we don't need an official holiday for this, but I've noticed many folks on my social media feeds bitterly rejecting holidays. If a family member invites me to a barbecue for Juneteenth or the 4th of July, I'm going! If a friend is having a Halloween costume party, I'll go to that too--my costume will be homemade because store-bought cost my whole future, but I'll be there. Valentine's Day? Exchange homemade cards and watch old 90's movies on the couch if you don't want to spend any money.
Personally, I'm not going to look at how or why other people celebrate to determine how or why I'm going to celebrate a holiday. I'm not going to stop someone from celebrating Kwanzaa because I celebrate Christmas. I'm not going to kill anyone else's vibe by telling everyone not to celebrate Christmas because of x, y or z. I will stay educated on the history of holidays and respect other people's opinions on whether or not they choose to celebrate a holiday for any particular reason because most of the time, there's a solid reason behind why they don't. And who knows--maybe three years from now, I won't want to celebrate this, that or anything else--but for now, I know why and how I'm celebrating or acknowledging the holidays that I do. Even if one day is controversial, I'm going to use it as one chance among many to spend time with family over good food and good music.
What holidays do you celebrate and why? What are your opinions on the 4th of July? Comment below!
Happy 4th,
Reina
