Beltane                                                           New (Summer) Moon

After reading Tom Crane’s comment on a post below, it occurred to me that the real purpose of holidays lies beneath their stated or claimed or even observed intent. A holiday keeps culturally important matters available to us, so that we may consider the deeper questions that they raise.

No matter that it may seem to have one purpose, in this case remembering those who die in warfare, Memorial Day actually keeps vital the debate over war itself and the terrible price it exacts. Or July 4th. Celebration of the birth of the nation, a national festival for honoring our country. Yes, it has that intent. But it also keeps alive awareness of the nature of the nation state and affords an opportunity to examine that curious phenomenon, so important to public affairs of the last 3 centuries.

Labor Day. Yes, today it seems to be little more than the transition from summer to fall, although the occasional parade, the more frequent speech will say laudatory things about working and workers. Yet, Labor Day also keeps before us the difficult question of the relationship of labor to capital. Its observance says yes, this is an important conversation about our commonweal.

Try out this way of thinking by considering MLK Day, President’s Day, Halloween, Christmas, Easter. They are all more than they seem.