I found this interesting information regarding federal holidays on Wikipedia -“For constitutional reasons, the United States does not have national holidays in the sense that most other nations do, i.e. days on which all businesses are closed by law and employees have a day off. Pursuant to the Tenth Amendment, the U.S. federal government only has constitutional jurisdiction to establish holidays for itself, for certain federally chartered and regulated businesses (such as federal banks), and for the District of Columbia; and pursuant to the First Amendment, neither federal, state nor local government can require any business (other than those mentioned) or individual to observe any holiday. Otherwise, constitutional authority to create public holidays is a power reserved to the states. Most states also allow local jurisdictions (cities, villages, etc.) to establish their own local holidays. As of 2012, there are eleven federal holidays in the United States, ten annual holidays and one quadrennial holiday (Inauguration Day). Pursuant to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 (effective 1971), official holidays are observed on a Monday, except for New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. All current federal holidays have also been made public holidays in all 50 states. States are not bound to observe the holidays on the same dates as the federal holidays but they are free to do as they will.”
The ten annual federal holidays are: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King’s Birthday, George Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day. And do you know what they all have in common? There are sale days in conjunction with each and every one. And for some reason this Memorial Day that is really bugging me. Maybe it is because young men and women are still dying in war. Maybe it is because I was at a National Veteran’s Cemetery recently and saw all the graves. Or maybe it is because I can personally name a couple of those who gave their lives in the past year. Remembering with parades, ceremonies even family barbeques seems appropriate but sale days?!?!
As I look at the list of Federal Holidays, I think maybe Labor Day would be a good holiday to have a sale connected to it but not the others. I wonder maybe retailers could have sales on other days and leave the federal holidays for remembering and respecting the ideals and sacrifices of those the federal holiday was established for. I guess my fear is that some day September 11 will be made a Federal Holiday and we will have sales with taglines like “special deals between 9am-11pm”. And we will have forgotten what happened on that day just as many may have forgotten what Memorial Day is all about.
Thank you to all who have laid down your lives for my freedoms. May God continue to comfort your families. God bless America.
Miss Ann Says 