The Holiday Rush

So after 30 days of fasting (explained in a previous post), our neighbors enjoy a 3 day holiday full of sweets, chocolates, coffee, and visits. We kept hearing about the holiday rush (similar in nature to the rush you are familiar with the week before Christmas). Last year we arrived just as this holiday started so we missed the days just prior to it. This year, we got to experience it first hand. Honestly, it lived up to its reputation! Normally, official offices, most businesses, and schools are closed for the 3 days. This year, because the holiday fell in the middle of the week, schools and official offices are closed all week. That means a 9 day holiday!

In preparation for the holiday, families buy brand new outfits that will be worn as they visit family and friends. Pans and pans of sweet treats are made to serve to guests. Vendors line the streets with tables overflowing with individually wrapped chocolates and other candy to serve to guests and children who come ringing your doorbell in search for sugar. Folks stock up on necessary supplies that they may not be able to get while shops as closed. And, of course, people wait until the last minute to get a lot of this done! What that means is super crowded streets and check out lines that wind through the aisles - a real holiday hustle and bustle. (Can you guess what holiday song I'm thinking of?)

Well, I, too, waited until the last minute to make a few purchases. Monday was considered the "eve" of the holiday, which means "last chance to get your shopping done because tomorrow your guests arrive!" Mark had to travel to a nearby city for work, and although he had invited me to ride along, I politely declined saying I didn't want to be rushed. Well, Monday morning we woke up to buckets of rain pouring from the sky. He again politely suggested I go with him so I could shop indoors, and that time I agreed!

I, myself, hardly ever, maybe even never, shopped at home on Christmas Eve, but I'm guessing I know what it's like after seeing the mall on Monday! Boy was I glad we got there before the big rush and got my shopping done before the check out lines stretched into eternity!!

Well, I got all the shopping done - gifts, chocolates, coffee. Mark swept and vacuumed the whole house Monday evening. I spent most of the day Tuesday baking so we would have something sweet to serve to all the guests we were expecting and something to take (as a gift) to the people we were expecting to visit. It's now Thursday and we've been able to visit one person and no one has been to visit us. You can imagine Mark's excitement over being able to eat all that food that hasn't been served to others!!

It turns out that all the people we were hoping to visit are all traveling - taking advantage of the extra long holiday. And we've ended up with a few extra days of R&R - a delightful surprise!
Other than a handful of children who have rung our doorbell, holding the plastic grocery bags that hold their sugary loot, and a couple of garbage collectors who go door to door asking for tips, it's been really quiet.

So it appears that (at least for this year) the holiday rush was the storm before the calm! And we may never pass this way again!!