Aardvark

Bruce Simpson · Site Admin Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 6061

This column is archived at: http://aardvark.co.nz/daily/2010/0201.shtml

Here it is, a public holiday in the region where I live, but I'm still working -- simply because, for the majority of my readers, this is just another working day.

Has the concept of regional holidays been effectively rendered pointless by modern technology and the internet in particular?

In an age when the tyrannies of timezones and distance are effectively destroyed by the 24/7 nature of the internet, can any of us afford to take time off while the rest of the world continues to work?

And will our increasingly "connected" planet eventually see the Chinese New Year celebrations dismantled in the name of commercial expediency?

Can China continue to afford to effectively shut its doors and go home for a fortnight as they increasingly move towards directly connecting to Western markets via online shopping and other internet-based mechanisms?

thrashcardiom · Joined: 24 Jan 2005 Posts: 525

keewee01 · Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 11:01 am Post subject:

Actually - I think they have the right idea by having a 2 week shutdown so as to be able to reconnect with friends and family. 7 day trading and longer opening hours has completely ruined family life for many New Zealanders, where to have (own) a nice house these days essentially both parents need to earn a living.

Many people take a chunk of their annual leave over Christmas to get this break, but many families can't have this time together (or not every year) because one or other of the parents has to work the non-stat (and even some of the stat) days.

And the Chinese New Year falls around the right time, so I say we should have the first week (or two) of February off each year as the "New Zealand National Holidays". Shut everything down and go be with your friends and family - lets start right now!! Sigh.... dreams are free.

Bruce Simpson · Site Admin Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 6061

Actually, I think you're right!

Hell, these days it's not until mid-feb that the summer has truly arrived and settled so why not just move our holidays to align with the Chinese New Year?

Two weeks off in the middle of summer would be a great break for most folks -- even if it meant sacrificing two weeks of their annual leave (hell, we've got four weeks now so what the hell).

Imagine how "laid back" NZ would be if everyone was on holiday for this two weeks.

Gosh, it reminds me of "the great Kiwi break" that used to happen from Christmas through to early February all those years ago. Mind you, that's also when NZ only worked 8-5, Monday through Friday and weekends were sacred.

The funny thing is -- there was a far greater sense of community, criminal violence was virtually unheard of, crimes of theft were few and far between and parents could still remember their children's names.

Unfortunately, even nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

keewee01 · Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 1:07 pm Post subject:

zkarj · Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 8:38 pm Post subject:

Ummm. The USA take a long break in the middle of the year. We take a long break at the end of the year. They have a long weekend at Thanksgiving while we're in a drought of days off. We have 11 stat holidays and they have 11 federal holidays, but they fall at different times. Even each state can have variations (who'd want to live in Kansas?)

It was only really last week in my work that things began picking up again as people who worked over Christmas came back from their breaks that started in early January.

So it's a 'problem' that will never be solved. At least any more than it already is.