What do celebrations and special occasions mean to us?

[Chaos Jackal]

Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving... These are some of the most well-known celebrations. Everybody is familiar with them, everybody expects them.
Each and every celebration however, has a message. But do we know it? Do we hear or follow it?
Some people believe that many celebrations have long-since lost their original meaning. What they mean now is days free of school or work, days that will result in presents, or days dedicated to typical visits to relatives or family friends. Commercialization and use of celebrations as means of making money, increasing sales etc. are another factor that seems to degrade them.
What do you think? What do celebrations like Christmas or Thanksgiving mean to you? Do you think they have lost their importance? Discuss!

 

[Gardy]

Hmmm, most holidays I participate in are usually meaningless for me. They are just days where something happened and we do special stuff. I mean, take Thanksgiving for example, I just get out of school and eat, my family doesn't even really do what are we thankful for and such, it is just a meal. Then Christmas is just presents for my siblings and no school, but for me it is just family time and I could care less about the no school. Halloween on the other hand, I absolutely love Halloween. I don't know why but it holds the most importance for me. Maybe because it was the day where I would actually hang out with people and they would pretend to be my friends, at least when I didn't have any friends, but now people are actually my friends and I hang out with them, so that is why it is most important to me.

So all in all, ya, I do think a lot of the Holidays have lost their importance. Christmas to my siblings is just presents, Thanksgiving to my whole family is just a meal, Easter is just chocolate, Halloween is just sitting at home to them. So yes, I do believe they have lost their importance.

 

[DNA]

"One man esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."

Holidays have as much or as little significance as we choose to give them. I fall into the latter group, but I will not deny that they hold significance to others.

Have they lost their meaning? Sure, if you want them to. There's no right or wrong answer to this. I live all days the same, the values they teach always at the front of my mind. I see no reason to single out giving thanks to the 4th Thursday in November; I'm thankful for what I have (health, friends, family, being alive, and a roof over my head top the list) and I remind myself of it very often.

Brownie points to anyone who recognizes my quote.