Just pick one
February 13, 2012 (Monday)
“‘Twas the day before Valentine’s, and all through the house…” Oh, wait, wrong verse. But tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. More about that tomorrow.Holidays–even the ones like Valentine’s Day when everyone goes to work as usual–serve to add a little zest and excitement to what might have been very unexciting times. A little break in the routine is always nice.
Some people are annoyed by Presidents’ Day–they want special days for Lincoln and Washington, just like it used to be. The way it works now, all the presidents’ birthdays are rolled into one Monday in February. The obvious result is that we celebrate no one. The banks close on that day, because it is a national holiday.
A special day for you is your birthday. You celebrate your presence in the world. It gives everyone else a chance to tell you that you are special because you are here. Very few of us forget our birthday. Even if we don’t celebrate it, we think about it. Why? Certainly not because we remember our birth. We don’t, but we probably remember some of our birthdays when we were kids. We loved the feeling. And we feel some of that again even when we’re not all that excited about it. Yep, it breaks up the routine, all right.
I love the celebration in “Alice in Wonderland,” when they all sing with the Mad Hatter, “A very happy unbirthday!” That celebration makes every day special.
We love happy days. That’s probably why we have a hymn which joyfully says,
Happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away!
He taught me how to watch and pray,
And live rejoicing every day;
Happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away!