Pi is a mathematical term used to describe the number of times the diameter of a circle fits in its circumference. It is an irrational number whose decimal points extends into infinity, but we commonly associate 3.14 with Pi. For this reason, there has been growing interest in celebrating "Pi Day" on March 14 (3-14) although I suppose this only applies to countries that list month prior to day (14-3-14 doesn't quite work). I'll temporarily set aside my preference for Tau over Pi in order to celebrate what is really a marvelous development.
Any recognition for a celebratory day that is dedicated to science (math specifically here) is actually a tremendous breakthrough for our society. All of the major holidays that we celebrate in America are either religious or nationalistic, none (to my knowledge) are meant to celebrate the truly monumental advances in human knowledge through scientific inquiry. Still, I think we are not yet taking the best approach to science holidays, maybe we should learn a lesson from the Christians of long ago.
Most non-believers (and indeed many believers) know that we celebrate Christmas nearly as far away from Jesus' birthday as possible. All accounts indicate that Christ was born during the summer months in the northern hemisphere, we know that Christmas was set in late December to appeal to Pagans who celebrated Saturnalia around this time of the year. Christmas is, at its core, really a celebration of the Winter Solstice and the life bringing potential of longer days. That Christmas was celebrated around the Winter Solstice is no trivial matter, it helped in the conversion of Pagans to Christians which fueled the growth and spread of Christianity (I assume, though I have not actually done any research about this impact). Might we be wise enough to situate secular holidays so that they coincide with traditional religious festivals? Might this help the Atheists in their "conversion" efforts? I'm not sure, but it seems unlikely to hurt the movement. Let's imagine how this might work.
It seems to me that there are two main holidays that need to be addressed, Christmas (obviously) and Easter. Our goal should be to create holidays that occur around the same time (indeed I argue they should be held on exactly the same day) and they should at least resemble the holiday they intend to replace. Let's begin with Easter. Easter falls on a different day every year (at some point I learned how it is calculated but i've since forgotten and no longer care) but shouldn't be too hard to find since it is always on the Sunday that follows Good Friday (that's a joke). Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ after he (supposedly) died for our sins, we celebrate by eating chocolate rabbits (especially the ears, if my mom didn't get to them first...), looking for hidden eggs (more candy and chocolate, does this seem like bribery to you or is it merely a reflection of our poor eating habits?), and (sometimes) going to church. Our holiday should have an equally serious motivation and equally ridiculous celebration. I would propose a day of remembrance for all those that have left us mortals behind, celebrated by looking for hidden eggs containing messages and quotes from those we most miss and respect (ok fine, lets throw some candy in there too, we don't want to be buzz-kills). We could even have an egg from Jesus himself (he was, after all, a righteous and respectable man) but it wouldn't be just about him, it would be about all of us. The eggs would actually mean something too, they would symbolize evolution, not so much biological but social (it's about how ideas are passed from one generation to the next, each one refining and molding them to fit their own landscape). Sounds like fun doesn't it?
Christmas is a bit harder for me. It is supposedly about birth, renewal and generosity but is awfully commercialized. Two ideas came to mind: 1) Move Earth Day to coincide with Christmas, little could symbolize birth, renewal and generosity better than Earth Day. The downside is that it doesn't really resemble how Christmas is actually celebrated, and there is certain to be backlash that would damage the work that environmentalists have already put in to get us to celebrate the earth at all. 2) Move National Service Day to Christmas. I like this better, it allows us to give back to each other (and time is more valuable than possessions anyway) plus, Christians can celebrate too as soon as they finish opening presents. The idea then, would be a gradual shift in emphasis from religion to secularism (but keep it quiet, they don't need to know 'till its already happened).
If you've got better ideas for holidays that coincide with Easter and Christmas, I'm all ears. But for now, Pi day is good (even if Tau is better) and we can all be thankful for that.
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