Friendship Day!

Friendship Day is apparently celebrated on the first Sunday in August every year! I was of course blissfully unaware of this fact until my bro wished me. (Aseem what would I do without you ;) I got to thinking about it and realized I'm really not a 'Day' kind of person! I mean I have enough trouble remembering Birthdays and Anniversaries as it is - without adding on a whole other list of 'Days' to remember!

Don't get me wrong - I am all for Love & Friendship and my friends are very dear to me EVERYDAY!! I guess I'm just not the kind of girl that will send cards that say so :P Maybe it has to do with a combination of laziness, advancing age and the fact my failing memory rebels when I tax it with inane details ;)

Back, way back, when I was a kid - we didn't have Friendship Day and though Valentine's Day was celebrated it was nowhere near the circus it is today, stirring up political protests almost every year! In my time I guess political parties had better things to do than protest a celebration of Love! Growing up in Goa, I remember the annual 'Red and Black' dance held on Valentine's Day at Club National, was a popular event. But that was about it! And us kids just wished each other! Sweet and simple! No pressure!

Over the years, I've watched Valentine's Day became big business, followed by Mother's Day, Father's Day and now Friendship Day. I have no problem with the basic idea, which I hope and suppose is to honour people and relationships, rather with the commercial aspect that encourages one to buy that special gift, send that special card or feel like a loser! I admit, it may seem like an over-reaction, after all one can choose to ignore these 'Days' and go on with life as usual - but that can be hard to do with the crazy in-your-face marketing, especially for the younger generation.

Also, who decides these 'Days' anyways? I mean why should the first Sunday in August be Friendship Day? Why can't it be the last Sunday in June? What difference does it make? Most of these 'Days' are decided by gift and greeting card companies to increase their sales - and boy have they been successful!

If online websites are anything to go by, everyday is some this or that day!
I went to one popular website and found that every day has more than one significant event marking it!

Some are cute, Aug 4 - Champagne Day also Picnic Day, Aug 6 - Pamper Yourself Day, Aug 8 - Happiness Happens Day.
Some wacky, Aug 3 - Grab Some Nuts Day, Aug 6 - Try Hypnosis Day and Wiggle Your Toes Day, Aug 10 - Lazy Day (love this one), Aug 16 - Roller Coaster Day and some just plain weird, Aug 2 - Mustard Day, Aug 5 - Blackmail Day, Aug 8 - Refrigerator Day to name just a few!

So guys go wish your fridge a happy day today before it loses its temper and floods your kitchen! After all even machines deserve a load of TLC ;-)

Oh and to all my friends (you know who you are!) "Happy Friendship Day, Week, Month and Year Always & Forever!!"

There that should cover me for life!