Spring Cleaning on 26 December

The day after Christmas is probably one of the worst days of the year. That's the day the house goes from the messiest all year to the cleanest all year, all in a day. In the morning, all the Christmas presents are spread throughout the house, after one day's use, and cookie crumbs flood the kitchen. Scads of wrapping paper that escaped the first and only trash run Christmas morning full in the corners surrounding the artificial tree whose fake snowflakes that survived the first several years still fall timidly to the ground. A quick vacuum will not clean this mess up.

Everyone wakes up early the day after Christmas. The excitement of Christmas puts us to bed late on the 24th, up early on the 25th, and by the end of the day, we are all tired enough to go to bed early. In the morning, we get to work. All the Christmas presents have to be delivered to their respective rooms (which, consequently, get more untidy, as the household junk migrates to these rooms unseen by guests), and shoes, boots, and coats are hidden in the closet without their owners' consent. Music that has accumulated on top of the piano and on and under the bench is moved to random drawers and folders, hidden from views of both the guest and the musician.

Why do we clean so much? Well, first, because the house is a mess, and because we all know that at some point in the week to come, we will have any number of guests. Those coming over to celebrate Christmas after Christmas, those invited for a New Year's Party, or those friends who are busy on New Year's Eve but feel the need to stop in at some point during for a Merry Christmas and a quick game of euchre.

So the house is clean, and the parents feel better (after everything is done and they finally sit down.) We can relax and enjoy the rest of the holiday season.