January marks the beginning of a brand spanking new year and the end of the traditional, western holiday season. We get the peace and hope of New Year's Day and then, for most, it's back to the daily grind of coffee and colored pencils. Festivus is over. Everyone crashes from the holiday hype, giving January a bad rep. But, folks: you're doing it wrong.
You'd think with how crazy folks get about Christmas that they would try to make it last as long as possible. That "Christmas only happens once a year" nonsense is, well, nonsense. It happens 12 times a year. You remember that really long Christmas carol with all the birds? The one to which no one ever remembers all of the words?
You know, "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Twelve. In the name of all things profitable, commerce and television networks have totally screwed this up by placing the 25th of December at the end of the twelve days instead of the beginning. This leaves revelers high and dry after New Year's and cheats them out of what I like to call the "Mardi Gras of the Winter" better known as the Twelfth Night.
This neglected holiday takes place typically on the 5th of January. The Twelfth Night is most notable for turning the rules on their head for the sake of a good time. Children rule the house, adults act like children (or squirrelly teenagers depending on the amount of wine), and everyone has merry old time. Everyone.
This holiday is great to celebrate with family and friends whether you're in a relationship or single. If you're the quiet, shy type now's your time to dance on the table wearing grandma's wig. If you're a perfectionist, today is your day to perfect how to not give a f**k. And, ladies, if you're feeling really ballsy follow Shakespeare's example and be your own wingman.
Go nuts people! It's like New Year's Eve Part 2: until the stroke of midnight parents get a break from being uncool, the dog can sit on the couch, and your aunt can wear that horrendous wig of hers inside-out and upside-down if she wants.
But why all of this revelry, you ask? Because the 6th marks the welcoming lil' baby Jesus, who saved us from our drunken, wig-wearing ways. The Epiphany is not as crazy as Twelfth Night, but more of a quiet celebration of hope and humility, which shouldn't be to hard after the wild night before. Typically, there's a feast of sorts but whether you go big with all the fixin's at Auntie's or order carryout with the crew, it's mostly about spending time with those you love. And taking down those gaudy decorations in togetherness.
Now skip ahead a few weeks to the Monday following the 15th. This is the day on which Martin Luther King, Jr Day is generally celebrated. MLK Day is an American holiday honoring a great American leader and civil rights activist. A lot of people are arguing that it's no longer relevant because we live in a "post-racial society" e.i. America elected a non-white as its Commander and Chief. Yeah, it's a tough job and it takes an intelligent person with high character to not run the country into the ground.
Not to get too political but despite inheriting the one of the cruddiest economies in American history, he saved the auto industry, ended a pointless war, and killed Bin Laden. And while this ultimately benefits working-class America, they still hate him. Bringing me back to my point...
MLK's dream is damn near achieved but close doesn't cut it. We live in a world where women of color are still treated as exoticized playthings and where the men are weeded out of the educational system and locked up in prisons over. Celebrate how far we've come but help get us to where we should be.
There are a plethora of MLK Day events celebrating community and equality and if you can't find one, start one with your pals. Volunteer at after-school programs and recreation centers. Be a mentor. What do you love about your freedom? Would you have been able to enjoy it fifty years ago? Celebrate that by making a difference.
January isn't as depressing as everyone makes it out to be; it's just that it's mostly about celebrating the bonds of humanity instead of the desires of the individual. So go out and celebrate each other. Turn the world on its head and level the fields so we can play on them together, fair and square. Happy January, y'all.
Besos.
You'd think with how crazy folks get about Christmas that they would try to make it last as long as possible. That "Christmas only happens once a year" nonsense is, well, nonsense. It happens 12 times a year. You remember that really long Christmas carol with all the birds? The one to which no one ever remembers all of the words?
Just move your lips and you'll be fine.
You know, "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Twelve. In the name of all things profitable, commerce and television networks have totally screwed this up by placing the 25th of December at the end of the twelve days instead of the beginning. This leaves revelers high and dry after New Year's and cheats them out of what I like to call the "Mardi Gras of the Winter" better known as the Twelfth Night.
This neglected holiday takes place typically on the 5th of January. The Twelfth Night is most notable for turning the rules on their head for the sake of a good time. Children rule the house, adults act like children (or squirrelly teenagers depending on the amount of wine), and everyone has merry old time. Everyone.
This holiday is great to celebrate with family and friends whether you're in a relationship or single. If you're the quiet, shy type now's your time to dance on the table wearing grandma's wig. If you're a perfectionist, today is your day to perfect how to not give a f**k. And, ladies, if you're feeling really ballsy follow Shakespeare's example and be your own wingman.
By cross-dressing and seducing a foxy lady for your bro and hunky gent for yourself.
Go nuts people! It's like New Year's Eve Part 2: until the stroke of midnight parents get a break from being uncool, the dog can sit on the couch, and your aunt can wear that horrendous wig of hers inside-out and upside-down if she wants.
Or double-scooped and topped with lace and pearl jimmies
But why all of this revelry, you ask? Because the 6th marks the welcoming lil' baby Jesus, who saved us from our drunken, wig-wearing ways. The Epiphany is not as crazy as Twelfth Night, but more of a quiet celebration of hope and humility, which shouldn't be to hard after the wild night before. Typically, there's a feast of sorts but whether you go big with all the fixin's at Auntie's or order carryout with the crew, it's mostly about spending time with those you love. And taking down those gaudy decorations in togetherness.
Now skip ahead a few weeks to the Monday following the 15th. This is the day on which Martin Luther King, Jr Day is generally celebrated. MLK Day is an American holiday honoring a great American leader and civil rights activist. A lot of people are arguing that it's no longer relevant because we live in a "post-racial society" e.i. America elected a non-white as its Commander and Chief. Yeah, it's a tough job and it takes an intelligent person with high character to not run the country into the ground.
Not to get too political but despite inheriting the one of the cruddiest economies in American history, he saved the auto industry, ended a pointless war, and killed Bin Laden. And while this ultimately benefits working-class America, they still hate him. Bringing me back to my point...
For the clueless
There are a plethora of MLK Day events celebrating community and equality and if you can't find one, start one with your pals. Volunteer at after-school programs and recreation centers. Be a mentor. What do you love about your freedom? Would you have been able to enjoy it fifty years ago? Celebrate that by making a difference.
January isn't as depressing as everyone makes it out to be; it's just that it's mostly about celebrating the bonds of humanity instead of the desires of the individual. So go out and celebrate each other. Turn the world on its head and level the fields so we can play on them together, fair and square. Happy January, y'all.
Besos.
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