America, I don't get it: Holidays

Labour day, thanksgiving, memorial day, veterans day, new year’s, and many others that I yet to discover. With each of these holidays comes a sale, and an array of related products. Now for example is Halloween season, so there is a fall sale going on, and then there are orange and pumpkin decorated stuff everywhere even in my coffee. The moment Halloween is over, we will switch from orange to red in preparation for Christmas. That red will stay with us until February for valentine’s. After red comes green, and saint Patrick’s day that I honestly still don’t understand why an Irish holiday is celebrated in America. I am not complaining about taking days off for some of these holidays, don’t get me wrong, a day off is always welcomed. I am just worried about the huge number of products and ‘consumerism’ that comes along these holidays. Are all of these occasions so important that we need to celebrate every single one of them? Do they mean something to the people of the U.S. If so, I hope someone will let me know. Coming to the ‘western world’ all I though about was Christmas. I wasn’t prepared for all of these occasions, or to be more specific, I wasn’t prepared for the huge economy built around these holidays. Let’s hope I make it through black Friday with my sanity intact.