Mother Talkers

Undercelebrated Holidays

by Sue in Queens

Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 04:19:27 PM PDT

Well, we've just passed Columbus Day, and I was struck by this article about how few businesses observe this Federal Holiday.  Separate from how you feel about Columbus himself (another blog altogether), un-celebrated holidays pose a problem for working parents.

As this article points out - schools observe the holiday but only 10% of businesses close.  As an employee of a non-profit agency, we have only a handful of holidays, and this isn't one of them.  Parents are left scrambling between bringing kids to work

The inconsistent response makes Columbus Day a mixed blessing for many families. Sarah Schapiro, a fourth grader at Public School 212 in Manhattan, said she would spend her day off in the office where her mother works as an accountant.

or leaning on family members

Judi Moccia, a choreographer, said she would have to ask her mother to spend the day with her 5-year-old daughter, Ying, because hiring a baby sitter would be too expensive.

or finding other solutions. I got lucky this year - my DH decided to take my DS on a boys' trip to visit his family.

Today I got a flyer from my son's afterschool program about their "holiday programs" - at least someone is benefitting from this inconsistency - the childcare programs!

But one irony - this article didn't mention the most important and inconsistent "holiday".....Election Day.  Schools are often closed (NYC schools are) but no one else has that day off - which is like a double punishment - we should have election day as a Federal Holiday anyway!

Tags: holidays, childcare (all tags)

Permalink | 12 comments

  • Two of my kids had school yesterday, (0 / 0)

    one did not.  My two daughters in college both had classes.

    What's happened here is that these holidays are often "traded" as a bargaining chip.  When my husband worked at a state university, their union traded a couple of holidays such as Columbus day for New Year's Eve and the day after Thanksgiving.  I think this might happen often and it explains why some facilities are open and some are not.  Over all, its probably a bad thing for parents as there is no guarantee that parents and children will have the same day off...or, in our case, no guarantee whether or not all the kids will have the day off.

    And we definitely need to do something about Election Day.

    by tjb22 on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 04:26:28 PM PDT

  • Fortunately (0 / 0)

    Columbus Day is not a school holiday in California.

    I am so fortunate to work from home. I do not know how real working parents with a commute manage.

    by shenanigans on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 04:38:12 PM PDT

  • My first time! (0 / 0)

    This year was the first time in my entire professional career that I had Columbus Day off.  Yay!

    Here's my thought on Columbus Day:  Pass legislation to move Election Day up to early October, get rid of Columbus Day which pisses a bunch of people off, and make Election Day the October Federal Holiday.  That way you don't add a third holiday to November, and you get rid of a controversy.  Its win-win.  And its warmer weather for standing on lines at the polls.

    by tessajp on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 04:41:59 PM PDT

  • Holiday yesterday for mine (0 / 0)

    My kids did have a holiday yesterday but they have not always had Columbus Day off.

    I am curious how many other states have election day as a holiday? It is not a holiday in Texas. I believe that your employer is required to give you time off to vote if needed, but since the polls are open 7 to 7, most people don't necessarily need the extra time off.

    by Lisa in Austin on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 04:45:48 PM PDT

  • My family was down for Canadian Thanksgiving (0 / 0)

    and my mother spent the day razzing my husband about having to work on Monday.   Unfortunately he works from home so he couldn't get away from it.  

    "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly"

    by lonestar canuck on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 07:43:07 PM PDT

  • my kids both had school (0 / 0)

    one in public school:  salt lake city district, and one in private preschool.  the u. of utah did not seem to have classes - traffic was VERY light.  

    of all the things i've lost, i miss my mind the most.

    by jlms qkw on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 11:55:37 PM PDT

  • we have (0 / 0)

    next Monday off for Dia de la Raza. I'm a work-at-home mom, so I doubt I'll get much work done that day, and I really need to. Aargh. As to election day, Chile holds elections on a Sunday, so that it doesn't interfere with work. No alcohol is sold at all from Saturday afternoon until the close of elections on Sunday. Voting is mandatory for registered voters--if you don't show up, you are called before a judge to justify your absence. And if you show up early to avoid the lines, you are likely to be forced into working the table all day. I'm surprised anyone ever registers to vote. I wouldn't!

    by Jen on Wed Oct 10, 2007 at 05:32:52 AM PDT

  • No one had it off in our house (0 / 0)

    The kids in our school district didn't have the day off.  And, my DH works for local city government and he didn't have it off either.  Somewhere between 5-10 years ago, they traded it for MLK day.  So, now they get MLK day off instead.  

    "If it's not Scottish, it's crap!" ~Mike Meyers

    by 1plain1peanut on Wed Oct 10, 2007 at 09:48:54 AM PDT

  • Schools were open here (0 / 0)

    as was my employer.  The state government was off, though.

    Katherine

    by pat of butter in a sea of grits on Wed Oct 10, 2007 at 09:52:31 AM PDT

Permalink | 12 comments