Perhaps you can relate to this lament from Gloria Pitzer:
“Procrastination is my sin. It brings me nothing but sorrow. I know that I should stop it. In fact, I will…tomorrow.”
The holiday season seems to bring out the worst in procrastination. Have you ever had the experience of wrapping Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve? Or worse yet, going shopping on Christmas Eve? As the satire site The Babylon Bee posted on December 24: “Dad Arrives At Vacant Lot Where Mall Used To Be To Begin His Christmas Shopping.”
This may be one advantage of returning to the historic tradition of celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas, where December 25 is only Day One. Missed mailing your Christmas cards on time? As long as they arrive before Epiphany on January 6, (aka The 12th Day of Christmas), you’re good!
Then come the New Year resolutions. We often make them around January 1 but run out of gas a few weeks later….
An American friend I met in Taiwan shared a great insight. Missed the deadline to send those Christmas cards and make New Year plans? Be encouraged! There’s always Chinese New Year. (That holiday is, like Easter, based on the lunar calendar. Thus, it can fall on a range of dates anywhere between January 21 to February 20 according to western calendars. Plus, after Chinese New Year’s Eve, the actual holiday time runs for another two weeks.) So, feel free to send Chinese New Year’s cards in late January and February, and you’re right on time!
So, procrastinators of the world, get around to that tomorrow!
Of course, author Gretchen Rubin reminds us that the best time to start a new habit or tackle a bad one is right now.
This year, the Chinese calendar has us entering the Year of the Rabbit, and New Year’s Day is Sunday, January 22.
Before we go down any more rabbit holes, let me wrap up this column by wishing you a “Hoppy” New Year!
–Scott Dreyer
