holidays

I had off yesterday. Having off on a Thursday really throws you for a loop.

The reason I had off was because it was the South Korean holiday of "Children's Day". I'm kind of bitter that these kids get a whole day of recognition and not having to go to school, when there was nothing of the sort for me when I was a kid. But then I remind myself that they endure about twice as much education as I did at their age, and probably have to work harder when they are 10 than I had to in college. I mean, they even have school every other Saturday, sometimes they have to go just to clean the damn place. I guess I'll let 'em have this one.

In the States we're used to Mother's Day and Father's Day, which at their core are spurious and fabricated by greeting card companies. Children's Day here feels authentic. It's like a group of parents got together a while ago and said, "Our kids are going to despise us if we don't give them something. But let's make it a Thursday. No way in hell I'm risking them getting a three day weekend."

Korea isn't immune to fabricated holidays. There's something called Pepero Day. Pepero is the name of a snack which is a cookie stick dipped in chocolate. On Pepero Day, people give and receive Pepero for the stupidest reason you can imagine: Pepero Day is November 11th, the date 11/11 looks like four sticks of pepero. There's also something called White Day. White Day is Valentine's Day's equally vapid brother. Here, on Valentine's Day girls buy boys useless shit. On White Day, boys buy girls useless shit.

I told my students that in the USA we don't have Children's Day, and they looked at me in genuine pity. Then I told them that I didn't have any academies when I was a kid, nor was I forced to learn an instrument, and that I spent my childhood afternoons watching Batman: The Animated Series and playing basketball. Then they looked at me in genuine hatred.

They had a nice day for their holiday; it was sunny and in the 70s. I asked a few kids what they did since they had no school. Some of them said they got to go to "Family Land", which is an amusement park. I try to imagine what a hot day in a crowded South Korean amusement park would be like, and I keep picturing hell. They all said they had fun though, so good for them.

They didn't all get to go to Family Land. A few told me, miserably, that they just had to stay home and study. That depresses me. Happy Children's Day, kid! Now, two hours of English, two of math, an hour of Hanja, then practice the violin for 90 minutes!

I also have off next Tuesday. It's the Buddha's birthday! Buddhism isn't as rampant as it once was here, so I think that it's more of a(n) historical holiday than anything else now. However, I still bump into a few kids who are raised in it. I remember a kid my first year here telling me that every Saturday he had to wake up early and go to a mountain with his father to pray.

So, yeah. Holidays.