If you're not in the education biz, you can't have any idea how many trees get felled, pulped, processed, packaged, unpackaged, shoved into copy machines, and ground out as administrative directives. Unashamedly, the powers that be call it "administrivia." And if our dear New Jersey Governor Fat Ass wanted to save some money, he could find ways to cut back on all the paperwork, forms, and memos!
A few hours ago, I was shoveling through a mountain of beginning-of-the-year school memos, and I found one entitled "State Approved Religious Holidays."
Oh, ho ho! Thinks I. Christmas, Easter, Yom Kippur.
Guess what? I am so not kidding ....
Samhain (Wicca) October 31
Beltain (Wicca) May 1
!!!!!!!
I won't quibble about the "Wicca" part. All hail Wicca! I'm just astonished. Astonished, I tell you!
Now, before my tap dance goes into the next combination, I will hurry to add that these holidays are excused absences for students, but not paid holy days for teachers. Meaning that my daughter The Spare can stay home on October 31 and not have the day counted against her. I have to take a personal day.
All is beautiful, though.You see, since I started as a full-time teacher, both Beltain and Samhain have been on weekends. Beginning next year, they will be on Mondays. Armed with that religious holiday directive, I can't be accused of slacking if I take a personal day on Halloween (which I most certainly will).
Thank you, state of New Jersey, for recognizing the bored deities! Now, if we can just give the heave-ho to this union-busting, worker-hating, rich-people-pandering walrus of a governor, New Jersey will be a swell place to hang a hat.
8 comments:
Thank you, Anne for the wonderful laugh I got, just from reading the title of this blogpost! I remember so many Pagans (not only Wiccans) holding their collective breath while the state discussed adding these holidays to the approved list. It will be interesting to see what, if any, public reaction there will be to anyone actually taking these days as religious holidays.
Yep, Pagan Soccer Mom was right on top of this when it was being reported this summer. America! Eff yeah! Or rather, NJ!
So what exactly is that NJ mascot supposed to be? I'm guessing some sort of fish, but one never knows.
holy shit~...that's wonderful...not about you having to take a personal..but the holidays.
I just want to know if Easter made the list...
Easter made the list.
The mascot is just some little round thing. Actually, it was so "thingy" that they retired it. These are old pictures. I think they ought to bring back the "thing." It's name is Perfy.
You do understand, don't you, that if you take Samhain as a personal day, you are officially OUTED, right? Just saying.....I'd sniff the atmosphere there first if I were you.
Not this year! Halloween is on Sunday!
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