The Holiday Whiz: Black Friday, Green Friday, You're Welcomegiving, more

Friday, November 29, 2013

Black Friday, Green Friday, You're Welcomegiving, more

November 29th, 2013, is Black Friday, Buy Nothing Day, Green Friday, You're Welcomegiving, Sinkie Day, National Day of Listening, Native American Heritage Day, Flossing Day, Square Dance Day, Electronic Greetings Day, International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and Throw Out Your Leftovers Day.

A personal note: Chances are, the folks who obsess over Black Friday are too busy shopping to read this, but I would urge everyone to scale back a bit. Must we force retail employees to cut their celebrations short in order to open their doors at 4:00 am on Black Friday or even on Thanksgiving evening? Just think about it. (Stepping down from my soapbox now.)

The day after Thanksgiving brings holidays related to the shopping season, notably the infamous Black Friday. Kudos to you if you camped out for days to get the best deal on a new flat-screen TV. No kudos to you if you elbowed people aside, used pepper spray, or worse. Never forget the true meaning of the holiday season.

At the opposing end of the philosophical spectrum is Buy Nothing Day in the US. Internationally, the event takes place tomorrow. Just relax, reflect on yesterday's celebration, retain your healthy bank balance, and stay away from the mob scene.

Some areas, notably New York City, observe Green Friday, encouraging shoppers to skip the big stores and shop second-hand or non-profits instead.

You're Welcomegiving (or simply You're Welcome Day) logically follows Thanksgiving, if you think about it.

The day after Thanksgiving also brings a food-related holiday. Brought to you by the International Association of People Who Dine over the Kitchen Sink, today is Sinkie Day! Enjoy those no-muss, no-fuss holiday leftovers.

National Day of Listening is the time to thank a special teacher by recording your experiences online. A U.S. map features states that turn brighter orange as more citizens participate.

Native American Heritage Day is always observed on the day after Thanksgiving, just as the National Day of Mourning is always observed on Thanksgiving.

Yet another post-Thanksgiving holiday is Flossing Day. The National Flossing Council asks everyone to "Help Spread Peace of Mouth."

Swing your partner! Do-si-do! Turn up the music and celebrate Square Dance Day. Now promenade!

Save some stamps this holiday season, if you're not too much of a traditionalist. Send ecards instead of paper in honor of Electronic Greetings Day.

The United Nations sponsors International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on November 29th. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon writes, "Let us, on this International Day, reaffirm our commitment to translating solidarity into positive action. The international community must help steer the situation towards a historic peace agreement."

November 29th is Throw Out Your Leftovers Day. In 2013, however, this holiday is only one day after Thanksgiving, so please don't toss the turkey and dressing just yet!

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Holiday Quotes

Every day is a holiday with you by my side. –N. Fleming

Today is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, Wednesday is National Baked Alaska Day, Friday is National Carrot Cake Day. I'm not sure how these days get started, but I'm getting very fat celebrating them. –Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Kimmel Live

Today is National Cheese Day, and I mean this when I say it, I hope your day is as gouda as mine. And if you're having a bad day, just hope it gets cheddar. Come on, admit it, that was sharp. I'm sorry, those puns were cheesy. Seriously, I apologize for those jokes. That's not the person I want to brie. –Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

In Britain the day after Christmas, the 26th of December, is called Boxing Day. And do you know why? Because they fight each other. –Craig Ferguson, The Late Late Show

The 4th of July is the day we celebrate our independence from Simon Cowell. –Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Kimmel Live

Today is...Earth Day, or, as it will be known in twenty years, That Planet that We Used to Live On until We Ruined It Day. –Craig Ferguson, The Late Late Show

Eight more days of Lent, then it’s back to chocolate, bourbon, and Lady Boxing on Pay-Per-View. –Conan O'Brien, via Twitter

Be Nice to Lawyers Day–have you heard anything so crazy in your life? What is that, like Pet a Serial Killer Day? –Craig Ferguson, The Late Late Show

Sometimes I worry that we Americans have lost sight of the true meaning of Bampflugnax Day. –Conan O'Brien, via Twitter

I heard about this Day of the Dead that they do here [in Mexico]. Everyone basically has a party to celebrate the dead people. We don't do that. We find it all a bit morbid, don't we, death? We don't like to talk about it. We certainly don't have a day dedicated to it. But then we waste days, you know, dedicated to, like, Pancake Tuesday. Why have we got a day for pancakes? –Karl Pilkington, An Idiot Abroad

Anyone acquainted with Ireland knows that the morning of St. Patrick's Day consists of the night of the 17th of March flavored strongly with the morning of the 18th. –Author Unknown

The best way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once. –H. V. Prochnow

Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. –Oren Arnold

There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents ... and only one for birthday presents, you know. –Lewis Carroll

Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice. –Dave Barry

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. –John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Charlie Brown is the one person I identify with. C.B. is such a loser. He wasn't even the star of his own Halloween special. –Chris Rock

About astrology and palmistry: they are good because they make people vivid and full of possibilities. They are communism at its best. Everybody has a birthday and almost everybody has a palm. –Kurt Vonnegut

A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year. –Paul Sweeney

I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending. –Fred Rogers

A perpetual holiday is a good working definition of hell. –George Bernard Shaw

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. –H.U. Westermayer

As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by December's bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we are worth the same. –Donald E. Westlake

A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age. –Robert Frost

For my birthday I got a humidifier and a de-humidifier... I put them in the same room and let them fight it out. –Steven Wright

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day. –Irv Kupcinet

The holiest of all holidays are those/ Kept by ourselves in silence and apart;/ The secret anniversaries of the heart,/ When the full river of feeling overflows;--/ The happy days unclouded to their close;/ The sudden joys that our of darkness start/ As flames from ashes; swift desires that dart/ Like swallows singing down each wind that blows! –Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Friday, November 29, 2013

Black Friday, Green Friday, You're Welcomegiving, more

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