Holidays Should Be Reconsidered, Again

Summary: All the way back in 2017, which seems light years ago, Kat and I were making our way through a big warehouse store and noticed that Christmas decorations were already taking over the aisles the first week in October. What I wrote then was an incredibly long rant as to why we needed to rethink the entire concept. Generally speaking, I’ve not changed my mind. Yes, the pandemic has changed the numbers a bit, but with any luck, the pandemic won’t last forever and once all traces of economic aid vanish and interest rates start to rise to combat inflation, the concept of 50 gazillion holidays every year makes a lot less sense. So what I want to do this week, partly because we weren’t doing a podcast back in 2017 and partly because I didn’t have time to write 3500 words this week, is take another look at that article and put it in the perspective we have now. My conclusions haven’t changed, but perhaps, just maybe, the reasons hit differently than they did a few years ago. We’ve experienced a lot since then. I’d like to think we’re a little bit wiser. But then, last December I was pretty sure this year couldn’t be any worse than 2020. Boy, was I ever wrong. The article starts with a review of the situation. Too Many Holidays Back in 2017, the Harvard Business Review published an interesting article: "<a href="https://hbr.org/2017/10/why-retailers-should-retire-holiday-shopping-season">Why Retailers Should Retire Holiday Shopping Season</a>." The reason they give, when boiled down, is quite simple: it's not making money. First, there's the expense of all the additional marketing stores do for the holidays. Second, there's the added stress as seasonal employees are added and more work is asked of everyone. Third, shopping patterns have changed and holiday sales don't hold the luster they once did. None of those situations are going to get any better in the future, either. While it's too late to make any change for this year, retailers would do well to begin scaling back next year and all but eliminate the holiday shopping season within the next five years. Given how many retail stores are suffering, the move makes absolute sense. Of course, if/when retailers do start backing off the holiday sales, there are some who are going to be upset; mostly folks of my generation and older and especially those of a distinctly right-wing religious affiliation. By those mindsets, there are no "holidays," only Christmas. Interfering with their holiday on any level results in accusations of waging a "war on Christmas." Even attempts to be inclusive of other religious holidays during the month stir the wrath of those who feel that December belongs only to them and their religious celebration. All of which has me wondering if we, as a generalized society, should redefine American holidays. We have a unique definition of the word that doesn't necessarily line up with the rest of the world, let alone the changing attitudes of people who live here. To some degree, that's not surprising. We are the only industrialized nation that doesn't use the metric system, for example. We’re the only industrialized nation that doesn’t have some form of universal health care. But Americans have an ego larger than our landmass and we think we have the right to define things any way we wish. When the rest of the world talks about "taking a holiday," they're referring to any general time off from work. As a result, you'll hear them talk about their summer holiday in Iceland or their winter holiday in the South of France, and other little trips and jaunts throughout the year. Special days are only really holidays if everyone has the day off work,

Holidays Should Be Reconsidered, Again

Directory

Click for all Categories