Is Nothing Sacred?

One of the things I've come to appreciate about my extended family is that it didn't matter to them on what day a holiday was celebrated. It was somewhat of a pragmatic decision; being one among fourteen grandchildren, there were lots of celebrations to coordinate. And my Nana thought it best to defer to the individual get-togethers of her five children and their in-laws, and simply celebrate as a family later. Often times, a week to two weeks later. Now I know that this really matters to some people, but the one thing that I learned from all this (apart from the fact that one can never have too many turkey dinners) was that holidays are just human institutions. I don't think most people would agree with that. For instance, a few stores will open their doors on Thanksgiving evening this year. Now I used to hear enough complaints about Black Friday years ago, but ever since this trend started, the backlash has been incessant. As if there are those who feel personally of