Too Many Holidays

Thank goodness Hallowe'en is past! On a Garden of Eden like Pohnpei, it is a shame to see children begging from house to house for candy. Especially when so many people choose to live on Ramen, Spam and KoolAid mix.

Then Thursday, November 3 was FSM Independance Day! Yeah! But we took the day off to celebrate Idil Fitri. Rohaizad (my partner) and I hosted an open house with Malay food and music at our seaside home. It was a beautiful evening and a lot of people came. We might have hosted the only Idil Fitri party in all of Micronesia, who knows?

Next week we get two more holidays: Tuesday (Constitution Day) and Friday (Veterans Day). With so many holidays, it would seem that people really take great pride in their nation, but it seems just the opposite. I don't hear about any ceremonies to mark these days: no parades, no fireworks, nothing. It's as someone said, "this is what a country must do," so they did it. Too bad.