Here we are deep into the month of August.  As I look at the calendar, it occurs to me once again that there are no holidays in August.

   That always strikes me as quite odd.  I know that there are some months which have no legal holidays.  But those months, March, for example, have at least a day like St. Patrick’s Day to spice things up a little bit.  I think we need a holiday in August.

   The two “analog calendars” (paper and ink) near me as I write this (one hanging on my wall and one on my desk) show a grand total of two events to commemorate this month.  My wall calendar shows “Civic Holiday” (Canada) on the 3rd, and my desk calendar shows “Raksha Bandhan” coming up on Thursday the 27th.

   Now before I’m tempted to write “WhoopDeeDoo – wacky Canada’s has a funky, weirdo holiday that we don’t have,” I’m pausing to think and do a little research.  This is in keeping with one of my ongoing goals, “Be Slow to Judge.”

   So this “Civic Holiday” in Canada is observed the first Monday of August,  apparently to give people a day off for summer recreation.  Okay, Canada – I’m on board with you on this one.  It’s exactly what I’m thinking we need here in the good ol’ USA.

   But, come on Canucks, you need a better name than “Civic Holiday.”  How about, “It’s Summer – Do Whatever You Want To Do Day?” Other suggestions I could give Prime Minister Mark Carney:  “Great White North Vitamin D Day” or

“Canada Has a Holiday and the USA Doesn’t, Nanny Nanny Nanny Day” or finally, “Remember Winter is Coming Day.”

   To be an accurate reporter, I must say that “Civic Holiday” is a catch-all name for the holiday which has different names in different provinces.  (Remember, Canada has provinces, not states)  For example, the holiday in Alberta, is Heritage Day. Nova Scotia has Natal Day.

   Saskatchewan celebrates the holiday as Terry Fox Day.  Terry Fox was a national hero in Canada who ran with a prosthetic leg. He  raised money and awareness for cancer research.  He ran the equivalent of a marathon everyday for 3,339 miles,  before having to stop his “Marathon for Hope” when he had to resume cancer treatments. He died at age 22 in 1980.

    Anyway, I think Canada should be noticed and given credit for showing the way for an August holiday.  But what about this Raksha Bandhan thing?

      Well, as you might have guessed from the name, it’s a Hindu holiday.  How this holiday wound up on my desk calendar, I have no clue.  Hindus represent about 1% or less of the population of the United States.

   As I understand it, Raksha Bandhan celebrates the “bond of protection” between family members and close friends – particularly brothers and sisters.  Gifts are given and promises are made of support, care and affection.

   We do have a brand of Hindu Temple quite close to Sanpete in Spanish Fork.  I know that hundreds of people go there for the famous Festival of the Colors.  I think my kids went there and had the fun of throwing colored chalk or powder at everyone.

   But if we’re going to adopt one of these two holidays, I’m going to vote for the Canada version of a day of summer fun.  That beats a “holiday” of promising to protect family members.  That sounds like trouble to me.

   In spite of the fact that there are no legal holidays for us in August, there are other special ways to enjoy the month.  Sometimes when I feel like a day is drab and boring, I’ll look up whether it’s a “special day” for something.  The nationaldaycalendar.com site is my “go to” source for this information.

   So, let’s do a little checking to get just a sampling of what’s coming up for the rest of  August.  I’m picking days which have an attraction for me personally.  You can go to the website and get the whole “shebang” if you need more excuses to celebrate any given day of the month.

  Today, publication day, August 19th, is National Potato Day.  More importantly, it’s also National Soft Ice Cream Day.

   August 20th is National Bacon Lover’s Day.  The 21st is National Senior Citizen Day.  The 22nd is National Be An Angel Day.

   Find Your Inner Nerd Day is Sunday the 23rd – not to mention National Sponge Cake Day (oh, I mentioned it).  The 24th is National Peach Pie Day (I hereby predict that my wife will very likely make a peach pie on this day.  I’m not kidding.  I further predict that there’s about a 50/50 chance that I’ll get a piece of it.  It will probably be given to a neighbor.)

   The 25th: National Banana Split Day.  The 26th:  National Dog Day.  The 27th:  National Just Because Day (celebrate this day any way you want – just because!).  The 28th:  National Cherry Turnover Day (Arby’s – Here I come!)

   The 29th:  National Lemon Juice Day  The 30th:  National Toasted Marshmallow Day.  And finally, the 31st:  National Eat Outside Day.

   It does occur to me that Sanpete does have a quasi-holiday in August.  It’s the Friday of the last week of the county fair – the 28th.  It’s a busy fair day. That evening is the demolition derby.   It’s a day when quite a few people kind of wander away from their workplaces.  I’m thinking that we should jump on this and formalize that day as an official holiday.

   For this to become a national holiday, there are just two small hurdles to get over to make this official.  First off, Sanpete needs to declare the holiday.  Easy enough.

   Secondly, we need to get the rest of the country (Congress and the President) to sanction it.  That may not be quite as easily accomplished.

   Naming the holiday would be a key factor.  Calling it “The Sanpete County Fair National Holiday” sounds good, but it probably wouldn’t get out of committee in Congress.

   I would suggest that the new August holiday be named something along the lines of:  “The Summer is Soon Over and August Doesn’t Have Any Other Holidays and I Don’t Want to Go To Work Day”  (TSISOAADHAOHAIDWTGTWD for short).

   It might be hard to fit on a calendar, but I think America might be ready for it.  What do you think?  — Merrill