Rule #7: All Holidays Should Run Sundown to Sundown

As our chosen friends start the Rosh Hashanah holiday today, nicknamed "Rush-a Home-a" by my friend Kara (at least she was the first one to say it to me), those of us who are not members of the tribe get to sit at our desks with envy in our hearts as friends head to the subway at 3:30 or so.  So I am rushing to get this out so folks can read it before they lose the light.

L'Shana Tova everyone!

From an outsider's perspective, sundown to sundown holidays are COOL!  You get to leave home or school early, you do the family stuff for a day or two, then you have the next night FREE!  It makes every holiday a holiday-and-a-half.  And, really, isn't that what holidays are all about?  They're not about family, celebrating good times, commemorating bad times, coming home from college trying to finally sleep with that one special person who ignored you all through high school, or food.  They're about not being at work or school.  So we should maximize this!

The holidays that have "eve's" with them kinda of do this.  However, wouldn't it be better if Christmas Eve started at sundown December 23?  Especially as sundown would be around 4:30 in the afternoon (where I live, at least).  You'd get all day the 24th at home (or, shopping, let's face it), at 4:30p on the 24th IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!!  Having Santa show up in the mid-afternoon would be incentive to get kids to nap.  Presents are opened when you are fully awake!  No screaming children at 5:30a going "GET UP GET UP GET UP!!!"  They play for a bit, everyone goes to sleep, and when they get up the next morning (the 25th) they don't have to bother you - they've got a ton of new toys to play with.

Perhaps even better than all this?  After dark on the 25th YOU'RE DONE!!!  You are free to catch up with friends, catch a ballgame, see if you can find that one special person who ignored you all through high school, or drink yourself into a small brown liquid.  And still be able to make it to work the next day.

The most important holiday for this is, of course, the Super Bowl.  We time the beginning of the ACTUAL pregame (not the 7 hours before that) with sundown, play the game, and then get most of the next day to recover.  What could make more sense?