Things have been so out of kilter this week that I’m actually writing a housekeeping post announcing that I’m having trouble posting this week. Any crashes of computer systems and interference with broadcast TV and radio is probably due to the increased sun spot activity caused by me throwing the balance of the universe out of whack by behaving so out of character.
Ma Belle Femme is off work this week, so expectations of how I spend my time has shifted dramatically. Also, her best friend is visiting this week, so I’ve been prepping for mad because we have to have the house perfectly clean before e the post carrier arrives much less some so august as a best friend. So, there’s that.
You can’t ay Merry Christmas even thought most people get Christmas Day off work, but you get Good Friday and Easter off work. You’d think that America was celebrating Christianity, but you’d be wrong because so many other religious have holidays around this time:
- Jewish (Passover/Pesach): The festival of Passover begins on the evening of April 1, 2026, and lasts until April 9, 2026, overlapping with the entire Easter weekend.
- Hindu (Hanuman Jayanti): This festival falls on April 2, 2026, just before Good Friday.
- Buddhist (Theravadin New Year): Observed on April 2, 2026.
- Sikh/Hindu (Vaisakhi/Baisakhi): This festival occurs slightly later, on April 14, 2026, but is often considered part of the spring holiday season.
- Jehovah’s Witness (Lord’s Evening Meal): April 2, 2026.
- Eastern Orthodox Easter: Falls on April 12, 2026.
That’s a lot of celebrating that we’re doing here at Ye Olde Blogge. It has kept me busy.
Image Attribution
This image was found on WikiMedia Commons and has a Creative Commons license.
It makes sense that religious/cultural holidays are clustered around certain times of the year. These holidays go back to the beginning of time. The Jesus story isn’t original ~ the Christians just think it is.
The only truth to any of these stories is the truth that people need time off to party, to eat good food that they eat every year ~ “traditional food” ~ to be with friends & family & to give gifts to one another.
Howdy Silver!
I’ve lived all over the world and celebrated many of these holidays. South Asian New Year just occurred somewhere around Easter. Since its a lunar holiday, it moves around, but every culture celebrates the return of spring. It’s a fun time of year even though it is pretty ugly out there here in the frozen north — icy, slushy, muddy. But, soon the trees will be budding. The grass is already greening where its free of ice and snow that is.
My point is that it is fun, engaging, and community building to wish each other a good holiday by whatever name. You’re sharing your culture or theirs, but it connects you.
Huzzah!
Jack
I miss the ‘honey do lists’…..have a good weekend chuq
The truth is, if it were ever removed from me, I’d miss it too. It’s good to be needed and to comfortable enough to fuss about it.
Jack
Yep….I bitched a bunch but now that Sue has passed I miss it. chuq
Howdy Chuq!
Ours is the hardest stage of life. Dealing with the numerous losses is nearly constant. Not just our peers and loved ones who pass, but also our lost abilities and skills.
Huzzah!
Jack
So true. chuq
Blog On, Sibling!
Jack
Call it “Spring”, “The Vernal Equinox”, or whatever, the roots were ancient long before calendars and writing. Stonehenge wasn’t built just for a Solstice. Party on.
Christians coopting other religions, but pushing theirs on everyone else. My “joke” was that we have a war on Christmas, but not on Easter. The Monday after Easter is a national holiday, but no one complains just like they don’t have a problem with Christmas being a holiday and everything closed. In Canada, Good Friday is a national holiday, but the prohibition on saying Merry Christmas is much stronger. People were visibly startled when I’d wish them a Merry Christmas.
Jack
Christians aren’t the only coopters. As far as I have heard, the Quran says nothing about FGM, and it wasn’t a Arab custom, but wherever it was a tribal custom, the Muslim missionaries wrote it into “law”. So did Christian missionaries, at least to the point of giving it their blessing. I’ve never had a problem wishing somebody a Merry Christmas. It’s their holiday, not mine, But I tend to default to Happy Holidays if I don’t know which one they are doing.
Howdy Bob!
Living in the Far East for so long, it was fun wishing people a Merry Christmas because they were so thrilled. It was such a novelty for them. I was looking forward to doing it here just because it meant shared culture as a way of truly belonging that you never really get as a foreigner in another country. I was disappointed when everyone here was just uncomofortable. We all celebrate Christmas because it is usually a holiday as in day off for everyone. It is so ubiquitous that just about everyone whether Christian or not is doing something because of it. How many Jews exchange Christmas gifts? How many Hindus? In other countries, we wished each other Happy whatever holiday was coming up just because we all were getting the day off even though we weren’t doing the traditional activities. To me it is just weird. Christmas is no more Christian than Halloween or Thanksgiving. It’s only a Christian tradition and Christian if you celebrate it in a Christian way. I’m sorry, sibling, I’m on my soapbox. But, to continue. Everybody gets Easter off because why? It’s the most Christian holiday we have. Other than chocolate and Easter eggs, it’s clearly Christian, yet I can wish everyone a happy Easter.
HaPpY EaStEr, sibling!
Jack
In a way, it’s just wishing people happy. That’s fun.
And, by using the name of the holiday that is either important to them or you, you are sharing your culture with them, making a connection, building some community. At least that was my experience wishing people happy whatever holiday when I lived in their culture, or Merry Christmas. We made a connection.
Huzzah!
Jack