Hi, I am dr. dom. Today, I wish to share my thoughts about why I think we celebrate special days for individuals or causes.

Yesterday we celebrated women’s day. And our year is dotted with days devoted to mothers, fathers, grandparents, children, pride, and the environment. We need such days to focus on individuals, issues and causes that we normally take for granted. Perhaps our lives are focused on careers, projects, or the pursuit of personal happiness. it could be that we are preoccupied with personal struggles or losses. I recognize these reasons as an auto/ethnographer.

As an auto/ethnographer, you may disagree, but i believe that the root of celebrating our special days lies in the Christo-judaeo tradition. For example, in the past people mostly identified themselves as Christians and so celebrated Ash Wednesday or all souls day. However, today in Australia, and largely in the west, for many people it is no longer true. The Australian bureau of statistics [abs] indicates that in 2021, 38.9% of the population identified themselves as ‘no religion.’ in other words, 4 out of 10 individuals in Australia profess no faith. The abs’ fascinating findings were and are not a moral reflection on Australians and merely points to where people are at in their lives.

What fascinates me is that people still need ritual celebrations, not necessarily religious, to help them focus on someone or something else. May be as individuals we need to shift our focus away from the mundane things of life. Hence, logically, i think that these ‘days’ are substitutes of what was done when people identified with or were affiliated with an organized religion.

Perhaps, the next time we are celebrating a special day, we need to ask ourselves, ‘why am I celebrating this day?’

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