I don’t know what happened to 2026, but it got off on the wrong foot if you ask me. In my region, we awoke to a January 1 surprise. I went to bed early since I had made no plans to celebrate (and no food in the house with which to do so), and I woke up to a coating of snow on the ground containing a mix of sleet. This meant I spent part of the morning scraping, shoveling, sweeping and chopping to clear the sidewalks and my car.
Fortunately this chilly start to the year didn’t put a damper on the Philadelphia tradition of marching the Mummers along Broad Street, but it did affect the competitive portion for the string bands. They performed without their large props due to high winds. The committee responsible for the judging and awarding of prizes for the best of the bands are working out when and how to reschedule the event so they can receive the accolades they deserve.
The string bands march last in the outdoor portion of the parade, and their elaborate performances are the highlight of the entire day. Leave it to Mother Nature to start the New Year with a long-winded weather event. It’s prudent to postpone; however, the leader of each band carries a large backpiece which, if picked up by a heavy wind, could blow him to Pittsburgh, and they still marched wearing them. The other performers, who sport smaller backings, could be bowled over by high gusts, so safety first makes sense for the staged episodes (they bring everything with them to perform at designated spots throughout the parade route). There were no reports of flying Mummer sightings.
On Friday I had to work, so I promptly signed in and began doing reports for the end of the month and year, followed by customer feedback. We have an online form which asks for the basics, but of the dozens of incoming notices I received, practically none of them were filled out properly. I blame the lingering effects of reveling on Wednesday evening, but also wonder if people are just unable to perform such simple tasks anymore.
When I went out to run errands today, you wouldn’t even know there had been December holidays. I stopped by a mall for a few essentials and found that Christmas had been dismantled, and much of the winter gear was on clearance with swimwear on the racks. I decided not to buy clearance sweaters, since I already have a decent supply, as well as enough to get me through spring and summer.
The local patisserie was quiet, and I didn’t need to wait in line. However, they ran out of tongs for the usual “grab and go” ritual. I skipped going to the supermarket as this is the first weekend of the month and the benefit check cart brigades fill every store all weekend long. If you’ve never caught the spectacle, it’s a comedy of confusion as a car filled with shoppers descend and grab carts to fill to overflowing with a month’s worth of food at once. It’s not as if the stores close down, but more that the money needs to be put in the proper place right away so the family can at least eat for 31 days. Thank goodness for February and a shorter month to stretch that benefit a bit more.
My last stops were the bird food store and my favorite bath needs place for supplies. The birds get yummy seeds, and I get cleansers and moisturizers. Luckily I still have funds left, as it was my payday as well yesterday.
The overall impression was that we’re all exhausted from December, and returning to what we call normal on Monday won’t be easy or pleasant. But we now have 356 days before the next Christmas madness, which will fall on a Friday, as will the New Year 2027. The best we can do is soldier on and look forward to other milestones such as the start of Daylight Saving on March 8, the end of winter on March 20 (spring equinox), and Memorial Day, which is 142 days away on May 25.
Are you blown away?
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