From Art of Noticing
And the more I think about that, the more it seems to me like a great design-class assignment, or family project, or just an individual thought exercise requiring observation of existing “holiday” parameters, contemplation of how celebration might connect us to others, and individual reflection on what seems worth celebrating in the first place. So:
What are your holiday’s “traditions”? Does it involve costumes? Certain specific foods? Particular music? Mandatory rituals? Special indulgences? A color scheme? Objects, whether functional, decorative, or absurd?
Who is involved? A group limited by personal connection, or geography, or some idea? People you hand-pick for reasons of your own? Or is it more open? Or is this a holiday just for you.
What is your holiday about? What deserves a holiday? (Or maybe that doesn’t matter. Don’t overthink it, keep it light if that’s easier. If your holiday is about you and a friend dressing in purple and going to museums, fine!)
Finally: When is your holiday? Find a day that you and your fellow observers can take off. (Bonus: make the holiday last longer with run-up events that don’t require days off. Carnival is of course a whole season of formal and informal events.)
PS: Don’t bother to explain all this to your boss. For years I would try to make clear to various editors elsewhere that Mardi Gras is a really big deal in New Orleans so I might be hard to reach — but they’d just call or email me anyway. Finally I just started to say “I’ll be totally unreachable Tuesday, for personal reasons.” If the reasons involved day-drinking in a wig downtown, well, so be it.
On another guide to inventing Holidays, we're instructed to consider:
a) Purpose (historical or modern)
b) Activities and entertainment
c) Gifts or gestures towards others
d) Food and drink
e) Clothing and decoration
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