Spring Days = Spring Cleaning = Mother's Day

With Spring Days comes the idea of spring cleaning. Maybe I'm a little late in talking about this because I'm pretty sure that spring cleaning is in like April, but April was too cold this year so let's say that spring cleaning is in May.

I hate spring cleaning.

I'm not a neat freak. If my clothes are strewn around my desk chair (which they always are) I don't really mind. My parent's thankfully don't go on this cleaning binge. Everyone else I know does. I don't know any other culture that involves themselves in spring cleaning. It seems like a totally American concept.  I have no idea where spring cleaning comes from or why it seems to be ingrained in the American culture.

Another thing that relates to spring is Mother's Day. The Westernized countries were the only countries with this concept of Mother's Day until very recently. When my mom was growing up in India, there was no such things as Mother's Day. Now there is. But that's probably because India is becoming more and more of a Western power every day. Mother's Day celebrates the individuals who raise us. It definitely is a very individualist thing that is found in pretty much every individualist culture. In other societies, it isn't just the mother who raises her young. It's the aunts and uncles and the grandparents and even the neighbors down the street. Here, mother's raise their kids and that its. That's why we have a Mother's Day. That's why other countries don't.

                                    

Birthday Parties

In the year of sweet sixteen's, it may be shocking that I'm going to be talking about little kids' parties. Yesterday, I went to two parties. One was for a little girl who was turning three years old. The other was for a little girl who was turning one. The girl who was turning three had her party in the morning and the other girl had her's at night. My mom said something that really struck me as true. She said "You know, I don't think little kids realize what a birthday is until they at least turn four years old. Then what is the point of a birthday party?" Of course, this mentality didn't keep her from throwing me a first birthday party, nor did it keep her from throwing my sister a first birthday party either. Still, the thought is the same.

What does a one year old know about turning a whole different age? Nothing. The little girl was cranky the whole night (probably because everyone was trying to rub and pinch her chubby cheeks), she wouldn't let go of her mom (because she was scared of said people who wanted to rub and pinch her chubby cheeks), and she threw up at the beginning of the night (surprisingly, this has nothing to do with people who wanted to rub and pinch her chubby cheeks). She wasn't a happy baby. The other three year old girl was more concerned with the pretty dress she was wearing and the moon bounce in her backyard to realize that she wasn't just two anymore, she was three! Because you know, that's such a milestone birthday (well maybe it is because she's  no longer in her "terrible twos" anymore).

I think that birthday parties are good for teenagers who are excited to grow older and become "adults." Adults don't like birthday's because it's a reminder that they're that much older than said teenagers and little kids don't understand at all what they're celebrating. Birthdays are sometimes fun, sometimes annoying, sometimes a great (or horrible) reminder of just how old you are. Sometimes though, it seems to be a waste of time, money and energy. I understand that mother's want to celebrate the birth of their children. Hell, I'll probably throw a first birthday party for my son or daughter too. I understand the need and I know I'll probably do it when I'm older too. But it's definitely an interesting part of culture.