On April 4, 2026, Sergey Petrov, a Russian immigrant boy from McGrathia, celebrated his seventh birthday party. Unlike other birthday parties celebrated in McGrathia before, Sergey’s birthday was declared was declared a federal holiday by President Joe McGrath, meaning that all hospitals and churches in Joetown were required to be closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Background
Sergey Petrov was born on April 4, 2019, in Moscow, Russia. In 2022, at the age of two, Sergey immigrated with his mother to McGrathia. Sergey’s mother, Svetlana Petrov, later married President Joe McGrath in 2023, thus making Sergey the stepson of President McGrath.
Due to the lucky connotation of the number seven in McGrathia, Sergey’s birthday with year was more special than any other birthday held in McGrathia. Thus, Sergey’s 7th birthday was to be a birthday that was to remembered.
Preparations
In order to have all citizens celebrate Sergey’s birthday, President McGrath signed an executive order that on March 31, 2026, declaring that Saturday April 4th and Sunday April 5th to be federal holidays, meaning that all businesses, churches, hospitals, and banks were required to be closed on those two days.
The second day of Sergey’s birthday party fell on Easter Sunday, which in a Christian context, marked the day that Jesus was resurrected. However, since President McGrath declared that Sunday April 5th was a federal holiday, all churches were to be closed so that people could celebrate Sergey’s birthday. This resulted in backlash from McGrathia’s Christian community, who thought that President McGrath was favoring his son over the founder of Christianity, which is the largest religion on Earth.
Similarly, those who celebrate Easter as a secular holiday were outraged at the fact that President McGrath cancelled Easter so that there would be interruptions from Sergey’s birthday festivities.
The Party
Saturday, April 4th, Anno Domini, 2026
On the morning of April 4, 2026, Sergey woke up and was immediately greeted by Joe McGrath and Svetlana Petrov. Sergey was given his first gift, a red scarf.
Later, at 5:00 p.m., Sergey was given his birthday dinner; pepperoni pizza from Papa Gino’s Pizzeria, which is Sergey’s favorite food. The event was held at Jimmy Carter Memorial Park. Furthermore, the birthday dinner was telecasted on all McGrathian television networks. After he ate 4 slices of pizza, Sergey was full and he returned to his house with his mom and dad.
Sunday, April 5th, Anno Domini, 2026
The following morning. April 5, 2026, Sergey woke up once again. This time, today was normal than the previous day. Things were normal other than the fact that all businesses, churches, and the Joetown Hospital, were closed as a result of the federal holiday. There were no events held on this day.
McGrathia returned to normal on the morning of Monday, April 6th, 2026, while Sergey returned to school at Saint Dominic Academy for the first time as a seven year old boy.