The Missing Months

The company where I work was sold a few months ago. The new owners are a French outfit, and they've expanded our list of company-sponsored days off for 2010 (see below).

You’ll notice that there are gaps in March, April, June, and August. As a step towards a remedy, I added suggested days off that the company could sponsor in red (except for March’s day, which is green for reasons that I trust are obvious).

January
* New Year’s Day (Friday, January 1)
* Day After New Year’s Day (Monday, January 4)
* Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Monday, January 18)

February
* President’s Day (Monday, February 15)

March
* St. Patrick’s Day (Wednesday, March 17)

April
* April Fools’ Day (Thursday, April 1)
* Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day
(as an extension of AFD) (Thursday, April 22)

May
* Friday Before Memorial Day (Friday, May 28)
* Memorial Day (Monday, May 31)

June
* Flag Day (Monday, June 14)
* Summer Solstice (Tuesday, June 22)

July
* Day Before Independence Day (Friday, July 2)
* Independence Day (Monday, July 5)

August
* International Beer Day (Thursday, August 5)

September
* Friday Before Labor Day (Friday, September 3)
* Labor Day (Monday, September 6)

October
* Columbus Day (Monday, October 11)

November
* Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 25)
* Day After Thanksgiving (Friday, November 26)

December
* Christmas Eve (observed Thursday, December 23)
* Christmas Day (observed, Friday, December 24)
* New Year’s Eve (Friday, December 31)

I circulated these at the office, and received a few responses.

Will offered these:
* St. George’s Day (Friday, April 23rd) – rationale: cause the Irish can’t have all the fun
* Bastille Day (Wednesday, July 14th) – rationale: we are now owned by French company
* International Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sunday, Sept 19th)

St. George led a fascinating life (thus his honorific of saint). He may have actually spent time in England too as a Roman officer. He was in the news a few years back because some Englanders thought they wanted a more contemporary figure, but the old patron weathered that storm.

July and September already have days; the exercise was to fill the gaps. Thus, Bastille Day is overkill (that seems an appropriate adjective for Robespierre’s handiwork), and though I’m sympathetic to Talk Like a Pirate Day, I suspect that if it were submitted it would be obliged to walk the plank.

Rebecca added a few as well:
* Public Sleeping Day (Sunday, February 28)
* Clean Up Your Room Day (Monday, May 10)
* National Relaxation Day (Sunday, August 15)
* Start Your Own Country Day (Monday, November 22)

I especially like this last one, and I already have my political campaign slogan in place: “To make the world safe for feudalism.” I already noted the benefits of such a system here. Think about it: bureaucratic red tape counts for nothing against the arbitrary decisions of an enlightened monarch.

All I ask is an open mind.

What are your ideas for days off?