Global Breaking News - Monday, December 23, 2024

Which Holidays Should Government Recognize?
It’s been a dense couple of months for holidays, including Christmas, New Year’s Day, Orthodox Christmas, Orthodox New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Mawlid (Prophet’s Birthday), the lunar new year, Lincoln’s Birthday, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Valentine’s Day and Washington’s Birthday. And next week is Purim. We wouldn’t get much work done if we all got every holiday off. But why does the federal government recognize some of those and not others? Christmas but not Mawlid. New Year’s Day but not the Orthodox or lunar new year. Washington’s Birthday but not Lincoln’s. Should the U.S. have more or different official holidays?
* dense = 빽빽한, 밀집한/ orthodox = (종교적) 정통파의; 동방(그리스) 정교회의/ Shrove Tuesday = 사순절 시작 전날(참회 화요일)/ Ash Wednesday = 재의 수요일(사순절(Lent)의 첫날)/ Purim = 퓨림 축일(유대인들이 봄에 하는 축제) 

 미국은 더 많은 또는 다른 법정 공휴일을 가져야 하나요?

1. Keep Christmas, and Add Other Faiths’ Holy Days
Americans shouldn't hesitate to say "Merry Christmas,” as long as they know when to say “Happy Diwali,” “Eid Mubarak” and “Joyous Passover.”
 
2. Let’s Observe Dec. 25, but Not as Christmas
Or we could make Dec. 21 (the winter solstice) the federal holiday. The shortest day of the year is already a natural holiday.
 
3. Secular Reasons to Mark Religious Days
Many Americans celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. That's why government recognizes them.
 
4. No Need for an Election Holiday; Vote on the Weekend
I support making voting easier for all Americans who are eligible, but adding an Election Day holiday is simply too costly.

Sample Essay

No Need for an Election Holiday; Vote on the Weekend

Everyone loves holidays. A day off from work, often a three-day weekend to travel or relax – who wouldn't appreciate that? But holidays recognized by the government are also costly. Millions of people taking another day off from work sharply reduces productivity in the country. And, like monuments on the National Mall, there are real limits to the number one can have, and each one needs to go through a thorough and careful vetting process, so that future generations can have room or times to honor other leaders or events.

At one level, as a longtime and strong proponent of making voting easier for all Americans who are eligible, I would love to make Election Day a holiday. Far too many working people are hamstrung on Tuesday; they can vote only before or after work, when the lines are especially long and when people whose livelihoods depend on getting to work on time and getting the hourly pay cannot afford to wait for an hour or more. But adding an Election Day holiday is simply too costly.

One alternative proposal, to have elections held on Veterans Day, has understandably been opposed by veterans' groups that do not want the day’s purpose to be diluted.

That is why I helped to found Why Tuesday, an organization focused on informing Americans that the tradition of Tuesday Election Days is not writ in stone or in the Constitution, but was chosen to suit a 19th-century agrarian economy. We believe it makes far more sense to move elections to the weekend.

In my ideal world, American national elections would be held over a 24-hour period from noon Saturday to noon Sunday, obviating any Sabbath concerns, erasing any “rush hour” problems of peak periods, and making it easier for more people to vote. I would also want early voting on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday beforehand for those who are traveling or unable to vote on the weekend.

Of course, a 24-hour period would be more costly than our current system – but far less costly than a national holiday, and a tiny price to pay for a better democracy. If Wal-Mart can stay open 24/7/365, why can't our democracy be open 24/1 every two years?