Halloween is almost here, the first holiday of a string of holidays taking us through the winter months. Most stores have been advertising Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas since September. In our fair city of Athens, Ohio, "Halloween" is defined not as "the 31st of October" but as "whichever Saturday the Block Party Committee decides is closest to Halloween/best for a block party." Before I finish typing this post, 20,000 visitors will have descended on Athens for a weekend of costumed madness. It's a great weekend. Always a fun time. The first time I ever went to the bars in Athens after moving here was at 3:00 am on Halloween (Athens Halloween, not October 31st.)
But I have realized, as this holiday impends whether I like it or not, that I possess a certain anxiety about the holiday. What do I do? What are my plans? How am I supposed to act? HOW MUCH FUN AM I GOING TO HAVE?!?!?! AAAAhhhhh!!!!!
Mostly, I have realized that I actually only like two traditional holidays (Thanksgiving and my birthday). (What? In Canada, my birthday is Victoria Day and everyone has parades, so it totally counts.) If one thinks of a holiday as a day where we celebrate the things/people we love, are happy, perhaps deviate from our normal routine, but basically we are happy and full of celebration, etc, then here is my list of my favorite holidays.
1. Thanksgiving (duh)
2. My birthday (parades in Canada!)
3. Any home football game at Autzen Stadium, especially ones I get to attend
4. Paw Paw Fest
5. Nelsonville Music Fest
6. Summer solstice/winter solstice
7. All the potlucks that precede Thanksgiving
8. Brew Week
9. Spring Break
10. Winter Break
11. Everything Else (4th of July, Valentine's Day, Flag Day, etc.)
THESE are the most wonderful times of the year. These are my new holidays. I hereby pick these as the holidays that I will get excited about, and stop getting excited about holidays that always end up sucking (New Year's Eve, I'm talking to you). Yes, many are Athens-centered, but who cares? I have way more fun every year at the Nelsonville Music Fest than I do on the 4th of July, for example. Let's all make our own holidays! America! Fuck Yeah!
