by Luke Wheeler

Created on: June 22, 2009

I've always been a firm believer that these sorts of holidays are completely unnecessary, and are just ways of gift shops to make extra money. It's materialistic, stupid, and just, well, really stupid. Not to mention it makes step-parents feel horribly awkward the whole day.

When kids grow up, most are taught to respect and appreciate their parents, in return for the same treatment; you know, saying thank you when your mom cooks you dinner, and being thanked when you go to the store to buy some milk, just as an example.

These holidays, just stress that this behaviour need be 'upped' for one day a year, then after it can be returned to normal level. How about, we treat our parents in the right way, all year round, and save the gifts, breakfast in bed and all the other gimmicks for their birthday? I mean, a birthday is a day for celebration of that person's birth. Mother's and Father's day should be abolished, and replaced with respect all the time, and gifts at birthdays only.

I feel the same way about Valentine's day, which if anything is worse. Again, it's an excuse for companies to suck money away from poor boyfriends, girlfriends, wives and husbands. No one needs a set day a year for a romantic meal, gifts and frivolous bedroom antics to top it all off. I mean, couples already have anniversaries right? I'm sure restaurant managers aren't complaining about it though, and neither are all the greedy companies out there who begin promoting these sort of holidays three billion years in advance, just so they can get every possible penny out of the public. It's theft, and it's cheap.

These holidays really are just gimmicks. You can argue all you like, saying it's nice to have a day, where everyone celebrates their own father, mother, girlfriend, dog, whoever. It's commercial, wrong and just empties people's wallets when these things should come to the people who deserve them anyway. There are already days for the event's that these holidays produce; birthdays and anniversaries. I can see no reason that we need a fixed day every year, to ultimately, get another birthday.

Whilst this article isn't going to stop Father's and Mother's Day from ever occurring again, I wanted to get my views out there, and I'm sure there are plenty of people who will agree with me. We should be promoting love and respect of our parents all year round, not on some pathetic, cliche public holiday.

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