I found it pleasant to be able to go into the street in front of my apartment building and see almost no traffic, as opposed to the constant roar, horn honking, and general din. People visit their families, spend time with friends or just chill, and, even without stores, they survive. Mexica and I had a little self-inflicted trouble because we got home from Boracay on Wednesday and we did not go out shopping when we got home. Because we'd been gone a week, our refrigerator was almost empty and we didn't have much, but that was our fault.
The real surprise came on Saturday, when the stores were open for a few hours. We went shopping, but to my great surprise, the stores were not crowded. There were very few people shopping. It seems that people had found something else to do besides shop. What a shock.
Meanwhile, this week (April 29 to May 5) is called "Golden Week" in Japan, and things in Japan pretty much shut down for the whole week. Just by coincidence there are several unrelated holidays that occur over the course of just these few days. Many employers apparently just shut down for the whole week and many people take vacations.
My point? Couldn't the USA use something like this? Wouldn't it be nice if our biggest holidays were NOT mere excuses for shopping? Yes, day after Thanksgiving, I'm talking about YOU. A week of quiet, rest, visiting family and friends, relaxation, recreation without the constant commerce sounds good to me. Here in the Philippines it's a religious festival (and that makes me uncomfortable for other reasons), but in Japan it's purely secular. By the way, Japan also shuts down for close to a week for New Year's Day, and so does China. If the rest of the world can do it, why can't the USA?
