# New Public Holidays In US **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 6, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670 "2010-11-06T04:35:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/61 "2010-11-09T19:41:37Z")
Curtis Qin is giving a bad name to pretension. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/62 "2010-11-09T20:01:20Z")
I could get behind “Manifest Destiny Day.” Instead of giving gifts, you go out and steal someone elses’ stuff and then loudly rationalize why it’s morally better for you to have it than they. The person with the best rationale is elected “Polk of the Day” and is promptly forgotten by all. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/63 "2010-11-10T17:49:36Z")
James K. Polk already has a They Might Be Giants song. What more does the man need? ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/64 "2010-11-10T23:34:38Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I think we should have a holiday celebrating the destruction of the second Death Star. Fuck the Empire! Seriously? That’s really insensitive to the families of all those independent contractors working on it, who were just minding their own business, trying to make a living, get breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the table for their families, and a roof over their heads, and who were blown up by this bunch of leftist hooligans for no good reason. Have you even thought of that? ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/65 "2010-11-11T01:12:50Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > No and it doesn’t just celebrate the Protestant Reformation but the breaking of the Roman Catholic stranglehold on the human mind. If you think that ‘stranglehold’ has been broken, you first have to believe that a ‘stranglehold’ ever existed and I’m sure a bunch of Catholics would disagree with that. Of all the ideas for a national holiday you might have broached, this strikes me as one of the poorest thought out, most likely to stir up dissent, insulting and outright violation of human decency possible. And I’m not a Catholic, nor am I sympathetic to the Catholic church. For that matter, I am a Free and Ancient Accepted Freemason; while I am not inimical to the Catholic Church, their official position is not at all favorable to me. IMHO, you need to have your meds checked. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/66 "2010-11-11T01:18:12Z")
I say we emulate the Europeans and declare all of August the Official Summer Time Holiday and go on collective vacation. Those who choose to work can take off July instead. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/67 "2010-11-11T01:22:51Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I could get behind “Manifest Destiny Day.” Instead of giving gifts, you go out and steal someone elses’ stuff and then loudly rationalize why it’s morally better for you to have it than they. The person with the best rationale is elected “Polk of the Day” and is promptly forgotten by all. I think I love you. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/68 "2010-11-11T01:36:53Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I think I love you. Yeah, that post definitely deserved recognition. This whole thread is really little more than a vehicle for the OP’s militarism and his evangelical Protestantism. The Polk and Reformation holiday ideas are the most obvious examples. He’s already spent a whole bunch of time on these forums (unsuccessfully) trying to get people to vote for Jesus Christ as the most influential person of all time. His OPs often boil down to: “I really like/dislike this person/event/idea. Please tell me i’m correct.” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/69 "2010-11-11T01:39:15Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I think I love you. So what am I so afraid of? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/70 "2010-11-11T01:44:04Z")
I could get behind Reformation Day if we could burn a Catholic at the stake on that day. But only if we could also similarly torch a Protestant on Catholic Day. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/71 "2010-11-11T01:45:05Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > Seriously? That’s really insensitive to the families of all those independent contractors working on it, who were just minding their own business, trying to make a living, get breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the table for their families, and a roof over their heads, and who were blown up by this bunch of leftist hooligans for no good reason. Have you even thought of that? Hey, they worked for the Empire. Maybe they should have considered not building the Death Star and shit if they didn’t want to get blown up by the Rebels. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/72 "2010-11-11T01:45:29Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > So what am I so afraid of? Afraid that I’m not sure of a love that there’s no hope for. Duh. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/73 "2010-11-11T02:02:19Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Afraid that I’m not sure of a love that there’s no hope for. Oh-oh, Candida! Wait . . . Shit . . . Hey! Aren’t all you people in jail? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/74 "2010-11-11T02:06:56Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Hey, they worked for the Empire. Maybe they should have considered not building the Death Star and shit if they didn’t want to get blown up by the Rebels. It would have taken tens of thousands of workers to build that thing. Do you really think the Empire elite would have had to soil their hands or bow their backs with manual labor when there were so many unproductive rebels and their families who needed to be taught the invaluable lesson of selfless service to the state? ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/75 "2010-11-11T02:09:08Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > If you think that ‘stranglehold’ has been broken, you first have to believe that a ‘stranglehold’ ever existed and I’m sure a bunch of Catholics would disagree with that. Of all the ideas for a national holiday you might have broached, this strikes me as one of the poorest thought out, most likely to stir up dissent, insulting and outright violation of human decency possible. And I’m not a Catholic, nor am I sympathetic to the Catholic church. For that matter, I am a Free and Ancient Accepted Freemason; while I am not inimical to the Catholic Church, their official position is not at all favorable to me. > > IMHO, you need to have your meds checked. Actually, I am an Ancient Free and Accepted Mason; I got a couple of words out of place in the above. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/76 "2010-11-11T03:48:39Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Some remarks: > > -I credit James K Polk for massively increasing the territory of the United States in almost impossible circumstances which are to-day extremely populous and wealthy. How about we make Thomas Jefferson’s birthday a public holiday instead? He not only massively increased territory, he wrote the freakin’ Declaration of Independence! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/77 "2010-11-11T03:56:04Z")
He also increased it the honest way, by paying cash. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/78 "2010-11-11T03:56:19Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > How about we make Thomas Jefferson’s birthday a public holiday instead? He not only massively increased territory, he wrote the freakin’ Declaration of Independence! The Louisiana Purchase was quite easy while the gaining of the West from Mexico and the British involved a lot of maneuvering and action. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/79 "2010-11-11T03:57:59Z")
Yes, I suppose you could say that in some ways thuggery is not as easy as entering into a mutually agreeable commercial transaction. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670/80 "2010-11-11T04:04:54Z")
The day after Super Bowl Sunday should be a national holiday (if we’re dead set on creating a new one and just want to be practical about the whole thing). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-public-holidays-in-us/559670.md?page=5)