I know you think you are helping people by trying to get everyone to close on holidays, but it isn’t necessarily everyone’s best choice or preference.
It might be the right thing for you … but what about me?
Taking wing
What about the people next door? Are they just like you? Same holidays? Same available choices? Same kind of family?
Same religion?
When you promote a work ban on holidays, consider that many folks don’t have families. These are people who are grateful to be working.
Moreover, there are many individuals and families who count on the extra money they can earn by working holidays.
Not everyone is equally enthusiastic or sentimental about traditional celebrations. There are plenty of people for whom Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Columbus Day are non-starters.
They have their reasons and they are entitled to them.
Not everyone has someplace to go and a warm, fuzzy family to share with. It’s wonderful to be grateful for what we have.
It’s also good to be mindful that not everyone is equally or similarly blessed … and not everyone celebrates the same holidays.
And. Even those who celebrate the same holidays do not necessarily celebrate them the same way you do or on the same dates.
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Categories: #Photography, #Work, celebration, Christmas, Holidays
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Good start, Kiki: NOT to be available…. of course
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I confess having had a problem with my son’s decision to always be available on Christmas Days (in CH 25th and 26th are holidays) – but it was truly his decision and after a few years of swallowing I now accept that he doesn’t want to ‘mingle’ with family and others but finally wishes to be with his beloved one. We also are surrounded with people with different ethical backgrounds and not caring for a tree, candles & Christmas music. It’s one of life’s lesson to learn and it proved much more difficult for me than I’d have imagined. I was stressing others with my wish for harmony, Christmas music and -singing, candlelight and wreath…. but I’m alright now. I do it my way, Hero Husband is playing HIS music on the piano (thankfully he also likes Xmas music, amongst others), we have right now 10+ candles burning and are drinking spicy Christmas tea – but your advice is absolutely spot on, as usual. Peaceful, serene, pain-less and harmonious Christmas to you and Garry, family and children! K
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Good advice. Regina
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Thank you 🙂
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Many good points there Marilyn and so true.
Leslie
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I really BELIEVE in choice.
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I do too…
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Yes, and it it isn’t just the different ways we celebrate, or if we even celebrate or not. The holidays can be very hard for some people. The more you try to push your version of fun, the worse it might be for them.
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I hate getting pushed into anything. Even if I like it, the pushing is a real “no go” for me. I do remember when we used to go down to Garry’s parents’ house on Christmas Eve occasionally and they weren’t interested in putting up a tree. Everyone assumed it meant they were losing interest in life. As it turns out, no, they really didn’t want all that bother — not to mention all the cleaning up!
Too late we learn the truth.
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I’ll be working Christmas as usual… if I, and thousands of other carers could not, there would be thousands of people isolated and alone at Christmas. The hospitals and emergency crews work too..and no-one is suggesting they shouldn’t. No-one should, perhaps, be forced to work major holidays…but surely it needs to be personal choice.
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Don’t forget police and firefighters, not to mention reporters. I don’t think Garry was EVER home on a holiday.
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And for the most part, extra pay for holidays simply doesn’y happen here these days… “It’s in your contract” if you are lucky enough to have one…
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It’s ironic as they continue to destroy the unions, we get less and less for the work we do. People forget awfully quickly. If it weren’t for the unions, we’d all still be working 7 days a week from age 6.
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We do seem to be going backwards…
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That was very well said and a few points were relevant to me in the past. My oldest cousin worked on the newspapers i Fleet Street as a type setter and Christmas night he got more than double pay, it was well worth it
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Yes, for a lot of people, a holiday is worth at least double, sometimes triple time. And a lot of people have no choice. Doctors and nurses and ambulance drivers. Cops and firefighters. Caretakers of all types. Reporters. Newspaper writers.
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That’s a fair call, Marilyn, some places need to be open on holidays and there are lots of nurses, cops, firefighters and others in the service industries who have to work whether they want to or not. I’ve worked a few Christmas, New Year and Easters. I didn’t always want to but I took my turn because it was the fair thing to do. I guess there are a lot of people who would rather go to work than be alone when everyone else is celebrating a holiday. I’m not one of them. I’d always be glad to have a day off unless I couldn’t afford not to go to work but we’re all different.
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Garry was never home for the holidays until long after we were married. But before that, he was single and moms and dads got dibs on the holidays. AND there are people who don’t celebrate the holidays because they are Jewish or Muslim or atheist … or POOR and they need the money. And of course, you’d really hate to be in a car accident and discover no one can come get you because hey, it’s the holidays and no one works so … oops.
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Where Naomi works it is always assumed that as she is single and has no kids or grandkids she has no plans for the holidays so she gets asked to work a lot. Usually she does but as she says even single people like to have time off at Christmas occasionally. We have been lucky the past couple of years that she’s had Christmas Day off so we can spend it together. As we live 140 kms from each other it’s not practical for her to come over if she has to work.
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A very valid point.
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People are very big on freedom … until they realize that what they what is not entirely free after all. If we make everyone stop working on the holidays, who mans the ER?
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I know. People who are prepared to work on holidays get paid extra.
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