Now that the Labor Day holiday has been swept out of the way for the year (or to be precise, now long forgotten), it’s time to concentrate on the holidays both real or imagined that will fall within the fourth and final quarter of the calendar year. These are the days, or period of days, that are marked to commemorate or to celebrate an event or occurrence that has been part of the domestic landscape for generations.
The holidays in question range from Columbus Day, Halloween, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving (both of ‘em), and of course, the collective block of holidays that hold the generic terms known as (what else?), “The Holidays” that fall within the month of December. That collective ends with New Years Day. However, that’s for 2021. This article will place its emphasis on the 2020 calendar year. (New Year’s Eve falls on December 31st. However, that day isn’t a holiday per se, but it’s connected to January 1st. But this is all besides the point!)
Anyway, let’s give a rundown on those holidays in question, and how those days are going to play out for this year.
As you are aware, this year has been drastically changed ranging from being slightly altered to being totally f*ucked up! Whatever happened in 2019 is staying in 2019, because in 2020. It’s a whole new ballgame right now assuming that ballgames are being played, if not bring played out!
October will bring Columbus Day, falling on its traditional day of October 12th. Over the past few years, the notion of a legal holiday that commemorates Christopher Columbus has lost its luster. This is especially true for this year, where anyone, regardless of when the person lived and/or when the notion was executed, has been shunned because the person or persons placed a group of people belonging to another linage under some form of distress that for many years were never discussed in detail and/or were brought to the attention to the public at large. These historical figures range from some of the founding people behind the missions of California to those active in the states that were once part of the Confederacy.
There’s been talk (maybe some action) of the government doing something with Columbus Day, or at least changing the notion of such. This article won’t get into the backstory to these modifications since that’s more of a political issue. However, Columbus Day as a whole is one of those “forgotten” holidays. People of Italian heritage commemorate the day as it’s part of their ancestry. And there are other celebrations such as hosting parades. Outside of that, the day is mostly used for businesses wanting to throw Columbus Day sales! It’s also another day not to have mail delivery or to do business through any federal agency. It’s reduced to a ‘floating holiday” for those working in a business that uses said holidays that float. (Yours truly once worked for a community and public access TV channel set within a regional cable company, and employees voted on what holiday they can take off: Columbus Day or the day after Thanksgiving. Nobody voted for the former day, let along remembered that the second Monday in October was an actual holiday!)
In Canada, the second Monday of October is Thanksgiving Day where folks north of the border feast on traditional Thanksgiving Day goodies. (All of Canadian origin of course!) However, let’s concentrate of American holidays for now, shall we..?
Next up is Halloween, falling on October 31st–a Saturday no doubt! This day for many folks is the only holiday that really matters, with people dressing their homes into haunted houses, throwing Halloween parties, and taking advantage of celebrating a day that pays tribute to the supernatural. Of course, the kids (and many adults too) will be going from door to door in their neighborhood dressed up in various costuming yelling “trick or treat” to grab goodies that may last well into Thanksgiving! It’s the fall party that beats all fall parties.
For this year? Well, the nation, as well as the rest of the world, already received their scary times. And Halloween has been part of that scare, but not in a good way. Granted, people want to celebrate the holiday, but really don’t know how to pull it off. The retail outlet Party City recently conducted an informal poll for that day that asked mothers (or their equivalents) on how the future of Halloween during a pandemic will be played out as according to these mom types.
The results of the poll? “Moms” don’t want to disappoint their kids by not going trick or treating. There will be costumes donned and houses decorated, and much of the trick or treating will be via “drive through” rather than door-to-door. So gas up the ol’ SUV and take the kids out to grab their goodies as dispensed through an open window! It’s not the same as before, but it’s better than missing out on the fun completely.
As to actual Halloween parties? Let’s hope that Indian Summer will still be around in most of the nation since one can host an outdoor party may call for a bit of chill in the air. The more chilly the air, the more ghostly spirits will be hanging around! So that idea will still work out!
Next up–Election Day, November 3rd. This one is going to be rather interesting. The two leads of red and blue colors are competing for the role of King of the USA. Although they both come from different backdrops and stand up toward totally different issues, they are both older that all of the videotapes (audiotapes too) this writer currently owns! They are even older that the era when regular TV broadcasts started to take hold, even before Uncle Miltie became the Tuesday night sensation! Election Day is not a celebration per se, but granted, there will be a lot of whooping it up! And not necessarily done in a good way either!
Next there’s Veteran’s Day, November 9th. This day is at times confused with Memorial Day. The former commemorates those that served in the armed forces that came back. The latter are for those that also served, but didn’t live to tell their tales. Even though Veteran’s Day holds importance, it’s mostly a holiday that’s semi forgotten.
Now we are entering the “big three”, those days that fall within the last six weeks of the calendar year. Those are the days that will show the most anxiety since they are part of celebrations that involve lots of people meeting indoors! American Thanksgiving falls on November 26th. That’s the day folks meet with others that consists of family, friends, or their equivalents for the annual meal. Right now, that day is up in the air since it involves a lot of traveling. One can drive in a private vehicle from one place to another, or one can take another transit source, assuming that people are rather comfortable to taking a plane, train, or even an automobile. Then there’s the traditional parade that Macy’s hosts each year. However, the department store, somewhat struggling as it is, will be “reimagining” the parade for this year. As of press time, it’s not know what this “reimagining” is all about, but it may not involve camping out along Broadway from the upper West side to 34th Street to see the passing parade!
Next up are all of the days such as Black Friday (November 27th), Cyber Monday (November 30th), Chanukah (December 10th through the 18th) and Christmas–December 25th. As of this writing again, nobody’s gonna know what those days are going to be like! Shopping can be done online (assuming people will have funds to shop), and so will the card sending. (The USPS will be working overtime since they were handling the Electron Day balloting!) Rounding out the season is Boxing Day (December 26th) and New Year’s Eve on the 31st. And don’t bother camping out along Colorado Blvd. In Pasadena because there won’t be any Rose Parade come January 1st, real or “imagined”!
Of course, we may have skipped a few days here and there. (High Holy Days, Winter Solstice, etc.). However, this rundown give one an idea of what’s going to take place, what’s going to be changed, and what’s going to be left on the table for those to decide! It just gets as confusing at the current times will allow!
So that’s the basic lowdown for the year. Of course, everything mentioned within this article is subject to change. Yours truly isn’t going to make any solid facts here, and everything that may occur may even be here say. Only time, tide, and a cure to the virus of the decade is going to be the final choice! Ballots, protests, and thoughts and prayers may help or they may not! It’s all catch as catch can! Right now, your humble writer is working in the same place where I hang my hat hacking away on using the ol’ Mac Pro while seated in the same room where I take part in on too many Zoom meetings! It’s just another day of a life while living in a pandemic!
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