Christmas is too large for just one day. I know that, of course, not everyone can take a string of days off work. I realize there are people who work Christmas day. For the rank and file of us drones, however, who sit in front of computers 9-2-5 making money for “the company,” this season should be a respite. The day after Christmas goes by many names—the second day of Christmas, the feast of St. Stephen, Boxing Day. Christmas, like ancient Roman winter festivals, couldn’t be contained in a single day. For me, being a professor meant living life in semesters. And semesters had breaks that included a couple weeks in December to regain your bearings. To me, that remains how it should be. So we continue to celebrate Christmas another day. We do so without an agenda. We do so by relearning how to relax.
Mental work is harder than it looks. The work day takes up so much time that when I finally have a few days off I wonder how I ever get things done for the rest of the year. Out of necessity, obviously. You have to work. You have to mow the lawn. You have to visit the tax guy in tax season. And so on. I’ve been reading about bees lately. They’re a lot more intelligent than people tend to think. The hive mind has its own logic. Still, worker bees literally work themselves to death. Lifespans are measured in weeks. It’s the price they pay for the success of the life of the hive. And when, after a few years a queen dies, changes take place that make a worker a new queen. The hive can continue.
Humans aren’t bees, of course. Our society has different values. We investigate when any of our species dies under mysterious circumstances, believing that all have certain rights. (War, of course, cancels those rights, but we think and dream of peace during the Christmas season.) Since the Christmas season remains with us but a few days each year, it makes sense to me that we build in some time for the drones and workers to recharge. Across much of the world Boxing Day is a bank holiday—a day off work. A time when the hive isn’t so worried about the concerns that mark most of the other days of the year. Holidays are important. They make us human. As much as I appreciate bees, even the hive hibernates during winter. Let’s give Christmas its due.
