Holidays

So yesterday was Thanksgiving in America. While sitting in front of my computer hoping the boyfriend would come online to chat I started to think about all of the holidays I will possibly miss. Thanksgiving might be one of them.

This holiday celebrates the pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock and "finding" America. Even though now most of our information leads us to believe that the Vikings totally found America first. This is a holiday they don't celebrate in Mexico.

I decided to consult my trusty Google and find out all of the holidays we celebrate in America. Here is the list of holidays that most people celebrate and I know I'm missing quite a few. (ie. Columbus day, Presidents day, Sweetest day... etc.)

New Years Day- Jan. 1st
Martin Luther King Day - 2nd Monday in Jan.
Groundhog Day - Feb. 2nd
Valentines Day - Feb. 14th
Washington's Birthday - 3rd Monday in Feb.
St. Patrick's Day - March 17th
April Fools Day - April 1st
Easter- Sunday in Spring (tends to vary from year to year)
Earth Day- April 22nd
Arbor Day - Last Friday in April
Cinco De Mayo - May 5th
Mother's Day - 2nd Sunday in May
Memorial Day - Last Monday in May
Flag Day - June 14th
Father's Day - 3rd Sunday of June
Independence Day - July 4th
Labor Day - First Monday of Sept.
Columbus Day - 2nd Monday in Oct.
Halloween - Oct. 31st
Veterans Day - Nov. 11th
Thanksgiving - 4th Thursday in Nov.
Christmas Day - Dec. 25th

Not all of these holidays listed are celebrated by every American, and not all of them are days where we get to miss school or work, or the post office is closed (though I'm pretty sure the post office takes any day possible to close so they may be closed all of those days).
In this list, there are only 2 religious holidays that are celebrated across the world.
So from this list of holidays how many of them will I lose in Mexico?
According to Mexonline.com, Mexican people celebrate a lot of holidays just like we do in America but only like 4 are the same. Mothers Day, Cinco De Mayo, Christmas, and New Years Day.

So what's an American to do? Throw out my own traditions and adopt the holidays that Mexico has to offer? Or be the only person on the block celebrating the 4th of July and accept the comments about being a crazy gringa? How do you keep things that are important to your culture if the culture you're in doesn't find them important?
At least I'll have Cinco De Mayo... I mean most American's don't even know why that's a holiday, it's just an excuse to get drunk on cervesas.

Now I know this list is probably missing a few holidays, and I can't be completely sure what American holidays are celebrated in other parts of the world because though the internet is an information super highway I would have to spend a lot more time on the trusty Google looking up holidays to figure out which ones are celebrated where. I can say for sure though that probably not very many Mexican's give a crap about George Washington, Christopher Columbus, or Martin Luther King.

Maybe every day really is a holiday when you've got so many options.