We have all noticed how major holidays such as Halloween and Christmas
have become blockbuster commercial and media events. The costumes are
hardly off before the Christmas displays have been erected. While there
has been a definite increase in major holiday hoopla, another holiday
phenomenon has arrived.
Social Holidays
New holidays that celebrate important causes have been cropping up
since the sixties, but a new breed of holiday, the business
holiday has been emerging as well. Many of these holidays serve to inform
the public about social issues that may otherwise be ignored or pushed
aside during the year. These include such holidays as:
Gay and Lesbian History Month
Women's History Month
Black History Month
The Corporate Holiday
Christmas was one of the first commercialized holidays.
Other holidays have been created to promote products, such as National
Peanut Butter Week, which help to increase product sales. Why do
businesses create these holidays? They do it to increase sales in
typically slow sales months. National Snack Food Week was specifically
put in february due to a lack of good sales between St. Valentine's Day
and St. Patrick's Day. Promotional packs are sent to school teachers to
cater to the children's market.
Creating a Holiday
It's fairly easy to get Congress to declare a national holiday
for you. The television show TV Nation only spent $5000 to lobby
congress to declare National TV Nation Day. But, if you don't have that
kind of cash, don't despair! The word National is not followed by
the © seal, so go on and declare a day a "National" event. It's
cheaper than Congress!
If you need an example, check out how Mother's
Day came to be.
Home for the Holidays