In the States and many other countries, the “holiday season” is here. It occurred to me that I should probably rank the holidays and let you argue with me.
I’ll try to avoid being United States centric. Sure we’ve got a great country with some arse kicking holidays, but thanks to my 18 years in the blogosphere I’ve been exposed to other cultures and subsequently I realize that my point of view isn’t the only point of view. I’d love to hear your thoughts on your favorite holidays and how you think that they stack up against the best holidays in the world.
10. Easter: Nothing like starting my list with a little bit of blasphemy. Easter gets the nod here because as a child on Easter, I would wake up and my parents would have hidden my Easter basket full of candy somewhere in the house. I loved the challenge of having to solve a mystery to get my candy. And then candy for breakfast! They hid my Easter basket every year until I was 18. On the Easter when I was an 18 year old college student I was so disappointed to wake up and discover that they had just left my Easter basket in front of my bedroom door.
9. Bhodi Day: What is Bhodi Day? It’s a Buddhist holiday celebrating Buddha’s enlightenment under a Bhodi tree. Because there are many different Buddhists and Buddhist calendars all over the world, the holiday is celebrated on different dates. When I’m elected President, or Sexiest Man Alive, whichever comes first, I will make sure Bhodi Day always happens on a Friday so we can have a long weekend.
8. Valentine’s Day: A holiday all about love! How could I possibly rank it this low? It was a tough call. Who doesn’t love love? Nobody, right? Nope. That’s not true. People who want a romantic partner and don’t have one are never happy on Valentine’s Day.
7. Eid al-Fitr: If you’re not familiar, Eid al-Fitr is massive feast that Muslims have to celebrate the end of Ramadan, which is a month in which they don’t eat from dawn to dusk each day. I’m all in for a giant feast anytime, especially after fast. I intermittent fast sometimes and I’m ready to binge eat after six hours!
This is a great picture. Thanks People Magazine
6. Day of the Dead: It’s Mexico’s Halloween but it lasts two days! I want to move to San Diego so I can celebrate Halloween on Oct. 31st and then drive across the border and celebrate Day of the Dead for two days. That’s three Halloween days in a row. If Day of the Dead is two days long, then why isn’t it Days of the Dead plural?
5. Halloween: I love the celebration of spooky things. And c’mon! Kids dressing up in costumes and getting free stuff from strangers? I can’t see how that could possibly go wrong! Adults have the opportunity to dress up as their true selves and get drunk at parties. What’s not to like?
4. Diwali: I highlighted this one last weekend. A densely packed population getting drunk and setting off fireworks is tough to beat.
3. Christmas: It’s tough to beat the run up to this holiday. The decorating and complete culture overhaul for one month are not matched by any other holiday.
This one is available on Amazon
2. Hannukah: Gasp! What? He ranked Hannukah over Christian Christmas?!!? Blasphemy! Nope, it’s not blasphemy. It’s simple math. Eight days of presents vs. one day of presents.
1. New Year: Whether it’s New Year in Times Square or the Chinese New Year, the celebration of the beginning of a new calendar year is universal. I have to say that I really respect China for ignoring the rest of the world and having their own New Year celebration 6 weeks later. I also hope that there a lot of people in China who celebrate both New Years. If it’s the best holiday, why not do it twice?
Those are my rankings. How would you rank them? Is there another holiday or two that you want on the list? Answer in the comment section below!
Have a great Wednesday! ~Phil
