Special Days

Being born and brought up in India, I never knew there were unique days in a year to celebrate and commemorate mothers, fathers, and spouse (lovers). I guess it was never an Indian custom up until recent years where young generations of Indians are exposed to such tradition. Thanks to globalization and understanding of western culture, we all celebrate at least Valentines Day in India, the most popular of all special days.

There are special days for everything, from New Year’s Day on January 1st, to Valentine’s Day, boss day, labors day, children’s day, president’s day, earth day, moon day, St. Patrick's Day, Friendship day and ending the very long list of special days with New years Eve on 31st December night. As I explore more and more on the subject, I was astounded to learn that there are at least 5 special days for every month. Let’s take the month of June 2008 for instance. We have Donut day on June 1st, National gingerbread day on June 5th, Iced tea day on 10th, Father’s Day on 15th, and UFO Day on June 24th. I’m not complaining; I love the fact that there are so many reasons to celebrate our life. There is nothing wrong in celebrating every special day or is there?

Valentine's Day is a time to express love; flowers especially roses, heart shapes chocolates, jewelry, greeting cards and dinner at some posh restaurants are some items on the to-do list. But for business owners worldwide, Cupid's return is a lifesaver resulting in sales boost and profit. 80% of the population tends to buy gifts for their beloved on that day. Mother’s Day yield about $13.8 billion in sales proceed and profit in US alone. Sales on Father’s Day, President’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day can make or break a whole year for some specialty retailers. All this makes me wonder if Special Days are nothing but gimmicks to get general population spend more money than they normally do. Are special days more of a business strategy than of a special celebration?

Business corporations spend millions of dollars advertising their products as an ideal gifts for Mother’s Day or Father’s day or Valentines day to name a few. These advertisement starts to pop up on all media source at least a month before special days. Reminding us to get out and buy gifts for our parents or spouse. They will also have a huge sale right after the special event. I saw a huge sale on valentine’s chocolates at my grocery store. Before Valentines Day the price was 7 dollars and now on sale for merely 2 dollars. Are we paying more for those chocolates in desperation to express our love on Valentines Day itself? Aren’t businesses being unfair raising the price before special days for all those guilt burdened fanatics and later reduce the price to the lowest to all those bargain/deal lovers ? Either way businesses are playing with us. These days’ special days are more of a publicity stunt than of a sheer joy.

Saying that, I want to go back to my question and say that there is nothing wrong in celebrating every special day. I celebrate Halloween Day; dressing up, buying chocolates, and trick or treating brings so much delight on my kids face. That’s the reason I celebrate it… to see them happy. I don’t go extra mile decorating my home with spooky theme, scary pumpkins every where, baking Halloween cookies, and throwing grand party. Celebration should be more of a personal elation than of a show off. If special days bring you that kind of happiness then one must celebrate it at all given opportunity. HAVE A NICE FATHER’S DAY and celebrate it in your own personal joy.