In an earlier post I related how the Irish enjoy three-day holiday weekends so much better than we Americans. In America, if you’re involved in retail – either as a retailer or as a customer – these weekends are not a holiday.
When I described the Irish way to a friend, he suggested I try to change America one family at a time. So we started with our family – a retail-free weekend spent with family and friends. Very enjoyable. Give it a try come Veterans Day this November.
Making the rounds of high school graduation parties this month, I’m repeatedly asked about the differences between life in Ireland vs. life in the States. My wife Jules’s post, End Of The Year Mania, covers a key area of difference, how we in the States are making important events (like high school graduations) unimportant by over-celebrating the trivial (like preschool graduations.) Jules references a brilliant piece in the The Boston Globe’s op-ed section on the downside of American over-celebrating. Jules nicely contrasts this with the upside of the Irish way of making the really important things truly matter more. Check it out.
Today school children in Ireland start their three-month long summer vacation. They enjoy a longer break than their American counterparts due to a more efficient school calendar, one of six things Irish schools do well that American schools should consider adopting.
When we moved to Ireland in 2001 from the top-notch public schools of Lexington MA (Lexington’s schools had just been selected as the best in the northeast) we were pleased to learn that the Irish schools were equally as good. The quality of public education – a key focus of the Irish government for thirty years – is one of the three factors behind the Celtic Tiger boom; in less than a decade the Irish economy became the healthiest in the EU, with the Irish now enjoying the highest per capita income in Europe. (The other two drivers of the Irish economy – a dramatic increase in the number of women… (more…)
For those who received the 40 Dublin Reports during our four years living in Dublin, much of this post is from my wife Jules’s 11th report.
“Everyone seems to want to know “How do the Irish celebrate St. Pat’s?” We didn’t really know because last March 17 we were in Prague. St. Pat’s is a very inexpensive time to leave Ireland, what with all the empty planes flying out after dropping off half of Europe in Dublin. This year we stayed and we are glad we did. The mood was great, largely due to a history-making string of gorgeous weather. It’s been sunny and warm for weeks on end.
“In Dublin there is a pretty big parade (not quite like an American one, but creative and fun nonetheless), accompanied by a four day festival (carnival rides, music, drama). The Irish are a bit amazed and slightly worried… (more…)
Wasn’t it great having Christmas on a Monday this year? Paraphrasing the last line of Van Morison’s song Coney Island from the Avalon Sunset album, “Wouldn’t it be great if it was like this every year?”
For both business and social reasons, making Christmas a Monday holiday makes sense. This year, the week before Christmas was a ‘clean’ full week at work. Other than an afternoon for a ‘Christmas lunch’ on Friday, the only people who missed work were those sneaking out a day or two early on international vacations. (When I heard one was stuck at the snow-bound Denver airport and another at the fog-bound London airport, I could almost hear my long departed Irish grandmother saying… (more…)
Change Agent 