Day 150. Party’s Over

What was it like in your house yesterday? Although not everyone was lucky enough to have a week off for Christmas, most of the people I know, did. Kids were home from school. Parents off work. No alarm clocks. Everyone staying up later than usual. Sleeping in later than usual. Playing with friends. Sleepovers during the week, not just weekends.

Visiting with family. Cooking up a storm. Baking. Sitting down to meals, instead of eating on the fly. Catching up on chores. Catching up on reading. Going to movies. Afternoon naps. Manicures. Pedicures. Hair cuts. Grooming pets. Traveling.

Skiing. Skating. And, depending on where you were, golfing. Playing tennis. Swimming. Or doing absolutely nothing at all.

Ahhhhh … lovely. That’s the life! But as the proverb states, “All good things must come to an end”.

And end it did. Yesterday. January 2, 2013. The day the world goes back to normal. Except for those lucky few, who are

Day 28. Celebrating Workers

Labour Day.  For some it means nothing more than a long weekend, a Monday off from work.  For others, it signals the end of summer, an official return to the daily   grind.  For kids, it’s back to school (groan).  For Canadians, it’s also the last long weekend before Thanksgiving, which begins the countdown to Christmas.

How we’ll spend the day, is different for everyone.  Those who spent the weekend away from home are probably heading back.  They could be packing up their cars, preparing for their long drives home as I write this.  Or in long lines, waiting to go through airport security, or board trains and busses.  Others are packing up cottages.  Lots of us will hang out in our backyards, sharing a beer or two with friends and family.

We’ll play tennis and golf.  Swim, sail and water ski.  We’ll read.  Listen to music.  Go to amusement parks and flea markets and county fairs. Nap.  And we’ll take advantage of all the special Labour Day sales at many stores.

But for many members of the work force —  those who protect, serve and care for us — like doctors and nurses, police and fire fighters, emergency workers, taxi and transit drivers, retailers, restaurateurs and more, it’s not a holiday at all.  For them it’s just another day at the office.

Being as curious as I am, I decided to spend an hour or two of my Labour Day, researching the history of the holiday.  What I’ve found is kind of interesting.  To begin with, Labour Day is celebrated in many countries around the world:  Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cuba, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Sweden, Middle East, Trinidad and Tobago — and,