Being the worst holiday of the year isn't necessarily bad. It's like being the worst cupcake in a bakery or the worst player on a championship team.
Valentine's Day is great holiday if you're young, in love and creative. If you're single, it's a sad reminder. If you're in a relationship, it can be a day of expectations or disappointment. (Not for Mrs. Brad, of course. Every year, I make her a special dinner at the beach, then present her with a personal mix tape before going home to massage her shoulders while we watch "The Bridges of Madison County." I almost kept a straight face while writing that.)
Let's get to the rankings. You could make the case that I should have included Mother's Day and Father's Day, but they are made by Hallmark. Kind of like Valentine's Day, now that I think of it.
10. Valentine's Day. Frankly, it ranks behind Presidents Day and even Groundhog Day among February holidays.
9. Presidents Day. It's a school and government holiday, but a regular day everywhere else. Whose birthday is it? The official name is Washington's Birthday (according to the federal government), but we've had 44 presidents and it's called Presidents Day. And no one has ever wished me "Happy Presidents Day."
8. Labor Day. The bookend to summer with Memorial Day, this can be foreboding. It's the last great weekend of summer, so even if the weather is spectacular, we know what's coming: A cold, dark, wet winter.
7. Easter. The most important day for Christians (including me), but it's largely fallen from importance as a U.S. holiday, mostly because there's no vacation. Nothing combines the sacred with the silly (egg hunts? Chocolate bunnies? Peeps?). Most people consider this very important or not important at all, so it ranks seventh.
6. Fourth of July. Cookouts, fireworks, parades. Is there anything better suited for America's birthday? The only downside: It's a fixed date, so it sometimes falls in the middle of the week, requiring us to return to work the next morning, after hearing our idiot neighbors set off fireworks all night.
5. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Quickly moving up the list because it's become a day of public service. It took a long time to get recognized, but now many organizations and companies embrace it as a day where people do things to help others in their community. We honor King's memory by following his example.
4. New Year's Eve/Day. It's awesome if you're a 25-year-old party animal. For non-drinkers like me or serious drinkers who consider it "amateur night," not so much. The start of the college football semifinals this year reclaimed New Year's Day for great football, at least.
3. Christmas. Routinely considered No. 1, I have it this low for a reason: It seems like the longest day of the year (actually, it's the fourth), particularly if you have young kids. The magic of the season is wonderful, but Dec. 25 begins with fireworks at 6:30 a.m. By 9 a.m., it's over except for a series of NBA games. I love Christmas season, but Christmas Day doesn't rank as high.
2. Thanksgiving. Food, family, football with very little pressure to do anything more than eat. And it kicks off the Christmas season, which makes it fun, too.
1. Memorial Day. Think of what it means: The start of summer. We start all the fun of the three-month season with a day off. Look at it this way: Even if it rains, great weather is coming. It's the most optimistic holiday. Just more than three months to go! (And yes, I just wrote about Memorial Day while ignoring what it's meant to recognize. Forgive me.)
Brad Stanhope is a former Daily Republic editor. Reach him at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.
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