Peter Herrmann’s Definitive Holiday Rankings
As we grow older, it seems like our lives become dominated by specific days throughout the year that society has deemed “Holidays.” These celebrations and observances take place on seemingly arbitrary days scattered throughout the calendar year and celebrate various things, both religious and secular. When we get stuck in the monotony of our daily routines, it becomes easy to gaze into the future and look towards the next holiday as a nice break from the ordinary. With their extended weekends and customary celebrations, holidays are a great time to relax, rejuvenate, catch up with friends and family. But, as with most things, all holidays were not created equal and I am about to share my guide to navigate the holidays.
Starting at the Bottom: Easter and New Year’s Eve
Let's start with Easter. For starters, the weather is turning from a nice breezy spring to a hot and muggy summer. Couple that with the new outfit your parents made you get, and you are a sweaty mess. To add insult to injury, you get no gifts and there is no special meal. Furthermore, instead of getting to participate in the egg hunts, you are the one stuck with the tedious task of filling each individual egg and then hiding them. Easter’s only redeeming quality is getting five (yes, FIVE) days off. Walk that right back if your school tries to combine Spring Break with Easter Break. Now on to New Year’s. The hype around NYE is just too much. Simply put, it's just not that good of a holiday. Five minutes after the clock strikes midnight it's already over and you're wondering to yourself “Is that it?” And after watching the ball drop for as long as I can remember, it is not that special and way overrated.
Moving on up to the Middle: Thanksgiving and 4th of July Thanksgiving comes at the perfect time. You are just about worn out from school, and this comes just in time to give you the extra strength needed to power through the remaining weeks. The weather is usually fine and the meal is delicious, what more is there to ask for? Bonus points for it being on a Thursday and there being a football game to watch. Independence Day: the lone summer holiday. A nice break from your summer job and there is always a good party. You can go down to the lake or stay right here in St. Louis and catch a free concert from a well known artist at Fair St. Louis. The weather is a little hot but the fireworks make up for it!
The Best of the Best: Christmas and Halloween No surprise here, Christmas is clearly the head honcho of holidays. Christmas Eve mass and dinner combined with a visit from Santa the next morning makes Christmas almost impossible to beat. We all have those childhood memories around the tree and every year the lights, decor, and music (Mariah Carey) get us right back to our sentimental selves. Halloween: a true underdog story. Halloween is perfect for that pleasant surprise in the fall. There is not much hype around it, so the payoff is huge. Halloween always seems to over deliver and it never gets the credit it so rightfully deserves. As a bonus, buying/making a costume then wearing that costume is actually fun and enjoyable.
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