Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

In general, a company, organization, etc. sending out "happy holiday" emails to their entire lists on December 22-25th tends to feel like "we only thought of this now that it's almost Christmas." However, I got one this morning that feels as though the sender realizes that there are a lot of holidays: it says "Happy holidays, we're counting down to the New Year" and then talks about upcoming shows.

N.B. This was prompted in part by a friend's post on the subject, but feels better here than as a comment in her journal. Also, I am quite happy to get greetings from my friends, including whumpdotcom's fine "Peace on Mars" card, "Season's Greetings," or indeed "Merry Christmas" from my Christian friends, and new year's cards at the appropriate time in the autumn. browngirl, your card made my day.

On their way to a holiday break from posting, Debbie Notkin and Laurie Toby Edison have reminded us of their Guide to Sane Holidays. It begins "If you love the holidays, love your family, and are looking forward to the next ten days, you don’t need this list." For those still reading, they offer some hints for reducing the stress of being with people who know how to push your buttons.

"As always, there are only two proper ways to celebrate tomorrow. If you're someone who, like me, is concerned with historicity, put on a loincloth, kill a goat, and whack the person you have a crush on with it. However, if you're someone who is more staid and traditional, then certainly the only gift that could ever possibly express the depths of your feelings would be a bishop with a crippled or epileptic child at his feet. That's the kind of thing that makes my heart go all a-flutter."—ladysisyphus

(She notes, however, that if you want nothing to do with the best-known associations of 14 February, your other choices include the paired Saints Cyril and Methodius, creators of the Cyrillic alphabet. Or you can stay home and read a good book, on the grounds that a much-promoted holiday falling on a Saturday is going to be more hassle than it could possibly be worth.)

Paging the Time Patrol. Paging the Time Patrol.

The New Year's Eve celebration is Sunday night, approximately 58 hours in the future. Along with a falling ball and lots of cold people, it will feature multi-colored confetti.

The confetti turns up on the sidewalk the next day. Normally.

Some of it is already there, bits of thin red and blue paper, with that forlorn look they have when they've served their purpose, when there are only a few bits lying on the ground instead of myriads drifting on the wind.

It's nice to know that the celebration will go off okay, but I'm worried about other leakage.