Today is the fifth of July, the day after a major holiday. I have to feel a little sorry for the day-after holiday. There’s no fireworks, no mattress sales. Families aren’t rushing around sampling ice-cold watermelon, slicing up apple pie or throwing burgers on the grill.
It’s just an ordinary day-after. That’s what happens after major holidays. There’s a huge disappointment after all the celebrating, and that letdown starts right after we sing “Auld Lang Syne.”
Jan. 2 might be the most dreaded day after. The first of the year is when we make resolutions to lose weight, eat healthier and follow a new self-improvement program.
The second of January is the day we have to start making good on those promises. Not the best way to start the new year, but there are some advantages for the lowly day-after holiday.
Some of us, especially chocoholics, love Feb. 15. All the Valentine’s Day candy is 75 percent off, and chocolate stays fresh for months. It doesn’t matter to me if those M&Ms have red hearts stamped on them – they taste great every day of the year.
For Cajuns, Mardi Gras is a huge holiday. “Fat Tuesday” shepherds in parades, king cake and wild fun accompanied by gallons of adult beverages. Ash Wednesday rolls in the day-after Mardi Gras, starting fasting, going without meat on Fridays and giving up something you love for 40 days, including that chocolate you got for 75 percent off.
Easter rolls around, and the day after is a repeat of Valentine’s Day. Plus there’s the dilemma of what one is supposed to do with the two dozen hard-boiled eggs. They’re taking up space in your refrigerator along with a pound of ham nobody touched on Easter Sunday.
Then there’s Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. For retailers, the days leading up to these two holidays is heaven. People spend all kinds of money on sentimental coffee mugs, funny T-shirts and flowers.
The day after these dates, we’re trying to make room in the cabinet for those mugs, figuring out how we can wear that “bald, tired and broke” T-shirt in public and watching wilting flowers drop petals all over the kitchen counter.
Halloween is a holiday parents love and hate. Finding the costume your child just has to have is one of the biggest headaches for trick or treating. We’ve lived the meltdown when there’s no more Paw Patrol or Wolverine costumes in the store.
All that ends on Nov. 1, but no one celebrates the fact that we’re finished shelling out money for candy we’re willingly giving away. No, this sad day dawns with a sugar hangover and parents wincing every time they step on another jelly bean in the carpet.
But all is not lost for the sad day-after holiday.
Dec. 26 can be a fabulous day-after celebration. Not only are the regular top 40 tunes back on the radio but, yes, you guessed it, all the Christmas decorations are 75 percent off.
It’s a great time to replace the Christmas ornaments the kids broke and the lights you stepped on while decorating the tree.
After Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, those who’ve lost a parent are relieved they can keep from biting their tongue every time someone whines about having to spend the day with their parents.
The day after Thanksgiving means leftover cornbread dressing, hot turkey sandwiches and the start of the Christmas season.
Unless you’re a retailer – Christmas sales start today.
So let’s celebrate the lowly day-after holidays. May they finally get the respect they deserve.
This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.