I'm certainly not one to quibble with having a good time or honoring something worthy, but I do have a few thoughts on the subject. This year, I noticed the gaudy lights, annoying music, and product advertising beginning to pop up a couple of weeks before Halloween. If I ever become President, my first official act will be an Executive Order making it illegal to start the push for one holiday before the preceding holiday has come and gone. I think the most enjoyable Christmas season I've ever spent was in 1993 while I was living in Izmir, Turkey. It was also rather funny to notice the seeming confusion among most of the other Americans there who seemed a bit lost without the familiar Christmas cacaphony.
Birthdays are another observance that most people seem to blow way out of proportion.
You really aren't any different than you were the day before. More than anything, birthdays seem to be little more than an excuse to buy yourself something that you just couldn't justify at any other time. These run the gamut from Federal holidays like Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday to things like National Secretaries' Day. Now, some will say that we might forget to render proper honors without these special days. For example, MLK's message should be remembered and honored throughout the year.