I mentioned in my last post -- among many, many other things!!!!!!! -- that the 12 days of Christmas -- immortalized in a famous song, no less! -- merely begin December 25th, and that Christmastide proper lasts until The Epiphany on January 7th. I am a serious advocate of the Old Ways.
Or, as my mom told me one year, the holidays last until Elvis's birthday on January 8.
If nothing else it is an excuse to leave decorations up 'til then.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmastide
Oh, and, shades of Phil Gramm, some are claiming the current recession is merely due to the unwillingness of many Americans to work:
http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2008/12/is-the-recessio.html
-B.