Happy Father's, Mother's, Sister's, Brother's, Son's, and Daughter's Day

Today is Father's Day in the US. And to celebrate it, my wife and kids got me 6 pairs of socks, 2 shirts, several packs of sour candies, a $25 Domino's Pizza gift card, and a mug emblazoned with the phrase "Good Man, Great Dad". I'll probably never use any of those things; they're all crappy IMHO. (Well, maybe I'll use the gift card and eat the candies; I love sour candies.) But this post isn't a Father's Day rant about the crappy gifts that men receive in comparison to women on Mother's Day; rather, it's about a conversation that I had with my son Kyle about why there isn't a Brother's or Sister's Day too.

To quote him: "The world should really have a Brother's Day and a Sister's Day. If not, they should get rid of Mother's Day and Father's Day. I know it's traditional, but it's really not fair." 

Clearly, he felt left out! Not wanting to let a good opportunity go by to have an in-depth conversation with my son on any topic, I decided to play Devil's Advocate. I suggested that we combine Brother's Day and Sister's Day into one and call it Kid's Day. Is that fair, I asked? And if so, then maybe we could combine Father's and Mother's Day into Parent's Day too?  No, he replied!

Well, since that's a "No", we should proceed with the two separate days for brothers and sisters. But on which days should they be celebrated? I suppose they should follow the months and patterns of the other related holidays. For example, since Mother's Day occurs first, so should it be that Sister's Day occurs first. After which, Brother's Day should follow. And we should have them follow in the two months directly after Father's Day, namely July and August. And we should keep the days the same, i.e. the 6th of July for Sister's Day and the 21st day of August for Brother's Day.

But isn't July 6th too close to the other major US holiday -- July 4th? Wouldn't that take away attention from Sister's Day? Yes, but so what! Every day, numerous birthdays and anniversaries fall close to or directly on major holidays. Just imagine the kids whose birthdays fall on Christmas or the women whose anniversaries fall on Valentine's Day. Is it wrong that their birthdays and anniversaries are celebrated nonetheless and that they receive too many gifts? And, who's to say their birthdays and anniversaries aren't enhanced by their closeness to another major holiday, or, perhaps, made all the more special, or, at the very least, more likely to be remembered?

So, do we agree, then? If so, let it be known that from this day forward, July 6th will be Sister's Day, and August 21st will be Brother's Day.

But, he asked, what if you're an only child? What are you to celebrate then? Should there be a Son's and Daughter's Day too? Hmm; that's a lot of holidays, I said! Maybe we should combine the days into one, i.e., a single Sister's/Daughter's Day and a single Brother's/Son's Day.  Oh snap, I said, I wonder if there are already such days. Let's see what Google has to say about the matter. Damn it; as luck would have it, there's already a Son's Day and a Daughter's Day and even a Sister's Day and a Brother's Day too.

That's a lot of days, but it doesn't even matter! We're in the U.S.A. We rewrite cultural history all the time! So why not rewrite those preexisting days?! By the power granted to us by us, henceforth, July 6th will be known as Sister's and Daughter's Day, and August 21st will be known as Brother's and Son's Day.