Andrushka

I hope you've all had a happy Women's Day. That's right, Women's Day, 8 March, because the other 364 are men's days. At Union today, neither my students nor the few other people to whom I mentioned the holiday had ever heard of such a thing. Tonight in my ELL class, things were quite the opposite. I figured the women in the class would be missing the special treatment the day engenders (ha ha) at home, so I brought them roses. I thought I would have to explain myself to some of them, but no, it turned out that everyone in class knew about the significance of 8 March. I have students from Africa, the Middle East, Central America, and Eastern Europe. That's a wide variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, but they all celebrate Women's Day on the same day. Just like they all know about the first of May (Labor Day). This got me thinking, if the rest of the world celebrates this holiday, why not America? Apparently, like the real Labor Day, it grew out of the international Socialist movement. America, once the voice of liberalism in the world, had become rather stodgy and conservative politically and economically by the early 20th century when the Socialist movement began. So while the rest of the world embraced it to one degree or the other, Socialism has been unjustly smeared in the United States for a long time (usually with straw man or slippery slope arguments). Therefore, we reject the holidays that Socialism bestowed upon the world that even the United Nations advocates. You can read a little more about Women's Day here, it's fascinating. Perhaps it's symbolic that Monopoly was invented on the same day Socialists set aside to celebrate the contributions of women. Ladies, let me tell you a little about what you're missing. In Eastern Europe, Women's Day is like Valentine's Day here, except without all that awful romantic tension. It doesn't matter if you are dating or married to someone; that doesn't have to define your participation in this day like it does Valentine's Day. And unlike Mother's Day, you don't actually have to have given birth to anyone to be honored. Every guy you're close to, even if you're just friends or related, should give you flowers, candy, or other fun little gifts on this day and they will. Why? Because they don't have all that pressure of second guessing what message each little thing means. I can't think of a better way to feed women's voracious appetite for flowers, candy, and scented candles. And if the guys don't cough up, remember the good old days of 1917 when a Women's Day "Bread for Peace" strike helped topple the Russian government.

Posted by Scott on 08 March 2006 at 3/08/2006 10:01:00 PM | Permalink