Not by Accident: Holidays and Holy Days -Episode21

Valentines day, Veteran's day, the 4th of July, Presidents day and Martlin Luther King, Jr. day are all holidays where we celebrate the sacrifice and character of a person or a group of people whose lives illustrations of the things (virtues and actions) we honor in our society.  Unfortunately most of these days have devolved into recreation and leisure.  We don't really comprehend the courage and scarifices of those at the core of the holiday.  The word "holiday" itself has transformed  -and not in a good way- from its original meaning.  Fortunately it has not alltogether lost its meaning.  We can still hear the original:  holy day.  Holidays are supposed to be holy days where we recognize that which is sacred, of infinite value and the highest level of "special".   These days, the people after whom they are named, should not just be honored.  We would have fallen way short of the reason for holy days  if all we do is remember... we should be emulating, replicating and tying to be like them.  That is, making a study of their character, of their sacrifices and of their objectives.  We minimize and mock their amazing lives when Independence day is only about hotdogs, baseball and the beach or when Valentine's day becomes flowers, jewlery and sexual expressions.  Declarations of love and long weekend camp trips are clearly not bad things, I enjoy both, but if that is all holy days have become, it is not a great sign for our society.  What we do and give, important as it is, does not even compare to the critical question of who we have become: a person, a family, a community and a nation of courage, virture and character.