The Holiday Season (I)

 Thanksgiving Day (22/11/2012) : One of the best holidays of the year!



Por
Ricardo W Carrano
Carolina do Sul  - USA

    

    There are only 7 official federal holidays in the USA:

     January 1^st:  New Year’s Day

     May 29^th     :  Memorial Day

     July 4^th        :  Independence Day

     The 1^st Monday of September: Labor Day

     Thanksgiving Day and day after: The fourth Thursday and Friday of November

     December 25^th: Christmas Day

     Depending on where you live or where you work, you might get a few more holidays but this isn’t mandatory.

     For instance: In Columbia, South Carolina where I worked for almost three years, January 17^th is a city holiday because   is the MLK (Martin Luther King Day) but is considered an observed holiday, which means it depends on the   state or the city to decide, as opposed to Greenville SC where the MLK Day is celebrated but only schools have  the day-off and company employees go to work.

     Good Friday is another good example. The Company I work for (Trendset Information Systems, Project Coordinator)    grants it employees with this particular holiday in April, but just because the owners are probably good catholic folks   and want to be out of work as well as its employees in the day Jesus Christ passed.

      But Thanksgiving is for Americans as important as Christmas. Millions of people travelling to be with their families   and because that of willing to deal with the inevitable complications of travelling by car and/or by airplane in most places.

      This traditional day is a celebration that was established in the 1600’s when the first pilgrims, most of them coming from    the old Ireland to find in this land of America freedom of religion. And, I a given day in November, they gathered with  the Indians to have a big feast to celebrate friendship and prosperity for all.

      Well, just like Christmas this holliday is also used as well for many different reasons, despite the fact that    the initial intention was different, because this is also something that we all know : That initital idea it didn’t end    well neither for the pillgrims nor for the Indians. But, everybody cooks and eat a lot (that’s is the idea, I suppose)    the traditional foods.

     

       As of today, as see millions of people on the road and airports across the country there is also a lot of business going on.

        I mean… a lot of hot and big business!

       Thanksgiving Day is for families but the day after Thanksgiving which is called “Black Friday” is a day of shopping and spending.

     



 Just because starting at midnight until about 10 o’clock in the morning you may find big discounts in stores. But as time goes by   this is also another “tradition” that has been changed due to the fact that right now the stores may also advertise and sell its   products on line and, it really doesn’t matter whether you are in a hang over or even outside of the USA if you want to buy a   big TV set or a GPS or an I-bla-bla the day after thanksgiving. All you need is a credit card, that’s all.

      

      

  In this world of madness, tradition, shopping, travelling and whatever, there is the undisputable true fact that I and my beautiful wife will be at home, just like millions, enjoying the days off just like millions we will have our Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, because do not want to cook just like millions of ordinary americans, but we may buy a new     dishwasher machine online and some Cd’s, like many other americans. so… Happy Thanksgiving!       

P.S: This post was written in English due to a suggestion of this Blog Manager, my beloved cousin Jorge Carrano. Thanks!