A quick question to the Americans of this site...

[omega 616]

So I was just watching that 70's show and a special thanks giving episode was on and it got me thinking, does "thanks giving" and "independence day" kind of clash ...?

I mean, 1 is celebrating leaving British rule and the other is kind of about about slaughtering the natives (as far as I understand it). Have I misunderstood or is it kind of "yay we got our own way!"?

EDIT: the bit below this is a joke! I know you all don't celebrate every holiday, for example: I doubt many people celebrate Kwanzaa besides black people.

Also, looking on wiki at your holidays ... do you guys have ANY days in work? You have a flag day, Women's Equality Day, National Dog Day, Washington's Birthday (what about the other 30 odd presidents you have had?) just to name a few ...

 

[Shadowstar38]

You seem to misunderstand the point of Thanksgiving.

And those other holidays are just there. I didnt even know about half the ones you mentioned.

 

[kidd25]

So I was just watching that 70's show and a special thanks giving episode was on and it got me thinking, does "thanks giving" and "independence day" kind of clash ...?

I mean, 1 is celebrating leaving British rule and the other is kind of about about slaughtering the natives (as far as I understand it). Have I misunderstood or is it kind of "yay we got our own way!"?

Also, looking on wiki at your holidays ... do you guys have ANY days in work? You have a flag day, Women's Equality Day, National Dog Day, Washington's Birthday (what about the other 30 odd presidents you have had?) just to name a few ...

we do, most of those days we just acknowledged as important. also presidents days take care of the rest. Oh yeah, Americans have a lot to be happy for, but just sometimes it is overkill.

 

[dyre]

Well, technically Thanksgiving is about the meal we had slightly before we killed all the natives, so there's no problem. Though, your belief that we celebrate the killing of natives indicates an inability or unwillingness to put any real effort into understanding other cultures. In any case, I don't see a contradiction between "we got those lobsterbacks to stop taxing us" and "we killed a lot of people who were in our way."

As for those other holidays, no one celebrates them anyway.

 

[Arkvoodle]

Thanksgiving was originally intended as a celebration for surviving the harsh conditions of our early colonies.

Now its just a big "fuel-up" feast in honor of the "True" holiday, Black Friday.

 

[rayen020]

half of our holidays are not celebrated, or at least not given a day off of work for it.

also thanksgiving is a weird holiday. It's basically a harvest day feast. The story behind it is British pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, and set up shop. some problems arose and there was a shortage of food. The nearby natives who they had peaceably coexisted with (at the time) saw their struggles and instructed them on how to grow the local crops and where best to hunt and what to fish for. After the Harvest the Native Americans were invited to share in a feast with the Pilgrims after a successful harvest. The leader of the Pilgrims and the Natives gave thanks for their friendship and the bountiful harvest. Giving thanks = thanksgiving.

I don't know how much of it is true, but that's the story i was always told. independence day it about national identity and revolting against corrupt rule. See also Guy Fawkes day, Bastille Day, Cinco de Mayo, and Liberation Day.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Well, technically Thanksgiving is about the meal we had slightly before we killed all the natives, so there's no problem. Though, your belief that we celebrate the killing of natives indicates an inability or unwillingness to put any real effort into understanding other cultures. In any case, I don't see a contradiction between "we got those lobsterbacks to stop taxing us" and "we killed a lot of people who were in our way."

As for those other holidays, no one celebrates them anyway.

We even invited the Natives to the meal, and they brought Maize with them among other fun things.

Then we killed them all. That'll teach them to help us learn how to farm!

 

[omega 616]

Your belief that we celebrate the killing of natives indicates an inability or unwillingness to put any real effort into understanding other cultures.

You seem to misunderstand the point of Thanksgiving.

And those other holidays are just there. I didnt even know about half the ones you mentioned.

"Have I misunderstood or is it kind of "yay we got our own way!"?" that was in the very first post of this thread.

Some of the holidays are certainly out there ... have a glimpse at just the size of the page!

Spoiler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_the_United_States

 

[Laxman9292]

Well Thanksgiving feasts were mainly a way to thank God for the completion of a long journey to the New World and was practiced by other countries as well, with Spain being the first documented thanksgiving. But the more popular idea of the Pilgrims at Plymouth's Thanksgiving is the opposite of what you described. It was a celebration of goodwill with the native Wampanoag tribe, particularly Squanto who taught them how to properly survive off the land and also to translate. Some people do think that it is representative of the genocide of natives, but I call bullshit on that because the original intent of Thanksgiving is the opposite. It's not like we're celebrating The Trail of Tears here.

And for your other question, USA actually doesn't have any national holidays that apply to all employees, the government only recognizes some holidays that apply to their own employees. Private businesses traditionally observe only the "big seven" holidays (New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas).

 

[Laxman9292]

Some of the holidays are certainly out there ... have a glimpse at just the size of the page!

Spoiler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_the_United_States

Yeah, but how many of them matter? No one takes off work to celebrate Women's Equality Day, or Dog Day, or Wear a Silly Hat Day.

 

[Iklwa]

So I was just watching that 70's show and a special thanks giving episode was on and it got me thinking, does "thanks giving" and "independence day" kind of clash ...?

I mean, 1 is celebrating leaving British rule and the other is kind of about about slaughtering the natives (as far as I understand it). Have I misunderstood or is it kind of "yay we got our own way!"?

Also, looking on wiki at your holidays ... do you guys have ANY days in work? You have a flag day, Women's Equality Day, National Dog Day, Washington's Birthday (what about the other 30 odd presidents you have had?) just to name a few ...

Probably said before, but yeah, I haven't even heard of half of those holidays. Washington's birthday was retconned to just "President's Day", to celebrate our now 43 presidents.

 

[Shadowstar38]

To clearify, we dont celebrate killing natives. Its just a time to get with family members and thank God for the things we have.

The origins of the holiday has nothing to do with what the actual holiday stands for. Kind of like how people dont have pagen celebrations on Christmas anymore.

 

[DevilWithaHalo]

Also, looking on wiki at your holidays ... do you guys have ANY days in work? You have a flag day, Women's Equality Day, National Dog Day, Washington's Birthday (what about the other 30 odd presidents you have had?) just to name a few ...

Ok, in America things can get really confusing really fast. There are a certain amount of days that are considered "Paid Holidays", usually resulting in about 5ish days out of the year. Although Federal Employees are usually given about 10ish days off. Employers are required to offer these days off, if not; we get paid extra for working on them... anywhere between 1.5 to 3 times normal wages. We even get PTO based on your employers benefits package.

But normally the average American is expected to work somewhere around 40 hours a week (heavily dependant on the field you're in).

As far as clashing holidays are concerned, we've stolen just about every holiday known to man and make it a bigger deal. Cinco De Mayo and Saint Patricks Day immediately spring to mind. Any excuse we can use to drink and forget our shitty 8-5 M-F lives!

 

[dyre]

Your belief that we celebrate the killing of natives indicates an inability or unwillingness to put any real effort into understanding other cultures.

You seem to misunderstand the point of Thanksgiving.

And those other holidays are just there. I didnt even know about half the ones you mentioned.

"Have I misunderstood or is it kind of "yay we got our own way!"?" that was in the very first post of this thread.

Some of the holidays are certainly out there ... have a glimpse at just the size of the page!

Spoiler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_the_United_States

Well, it's a little weird that you could have understood it that way in the first place (surely you at least looked it up on wikipedia?), but I'll drop it.

As for the other holidays, some of them cater to certain groups of people in the country, from the ultra-patriotic to the tree-huggers. We don't all celebrate all our holidays, or even all our national holidays.

 

[lord.jeff]

Most holidays aren't celebrated, in fact only 6 or 8 are reconized by companies as offical holidays, it depends on where you work which holidays get reconized but it's the law that that many days employs get off or have holiday pay.

 

[MaxwellEdison]

So I was just watching that 70's show and a special thanks giving episode was on and it got me thinking, does "thanks giving" and "independence day" kind of clash ...?

I mean, 1 is celebrating leaving British rule and the other is kind of about about slaughtering the natives (as far as I understand it). Have I misunderstood or is it kind of "yay we got our own way!"?

Also, looking on wiki at your holidays ... do you guys have ANY days in work? You have a flag day, Women's Equality Day, National Dog Day, Washington's Birthday (what about the other 30 odd presidents you have had?) just to name a few ...

You didn't do much research into us, did you?
Thanksgiving isn't about killing the natives, it's about giving thanks for what we have. It just so happens that we made up a cute story about getting along with our enemies and ignored the whole slaughtering thing while doing so, but that isn't what the holiday is about. Even if it was, not sure how that clashes with a celebration of our country being founded. (Though it sure does clash with some of the ideas America supposedly holds dear)

Second bit, the only holiday there that anyone gets off is Washington's Birthday, and I'm pretty sure it's mainly students who get that off. I've never even heard of Equality or Dog Day. And as Washington was *the first* president, as well as a major player in the founding of the nation, he gets a special day. He's called the Father of the country for a reason.

 

[ShindoL Shill]

"we got those lobsterbacks to stop taxing us"

who was that?
you mean the British?
didnt we give you cheap, high quality tea so you wouldnt blow all your money on smuggled shite, which you then threw in the sea, because 'that was how we'd START taxing you'?
yes... i believe you did.
then you got pissy about us giving canada to the french to stop a war.
(i learn about 'merica from Cracked.com okay?)

 

[Hectix777]

Yeah, the only ones we care about are the ones printed on the calendar(Christmas, Yom Kippur, Hanuka, etc.). That may sound obnoxious, but seriously who gives a crap on Dog day or whatever.