h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There's a period of six months that I love so much because my three favorite holidays occur in them with fairly rapid succession. September through February.

I love September because it has my third favorite holiday, International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Every September 19th, gotta love it.

Then there's my second favorite Holiday, which just ended: Halloween! Whether you genuinely like spooky stories, or costumes, or candy, or...well, it's just got a little something for everyone, whether you'd rather grumpily and pedantically delve into the traditions that everyone's forgotten, or if you'd rather just embrace the holiday for what it is.

But now that Halloween is over, it's time for my favorite time of the year. Christmas time!

It's already begun now with November 1st. I'm going to not enforce any celebrations until November 11th, the feast of St. Martin (he goes around on a horse and lets loose some winter snow from his robe. Festive, I tells ye!) Then I'll enjoy Thanksgiving, even though it's not technically Christmas related. Then St. Andrew's Day on November 30th! Gotta love that one. They say that on Andrew's Day, vampires duel in Romania. Awesome and/or spooky. And by then we're in December, of course, when people finally sigh and accept that the season's upon them (though they're a month late.) Then we get to Hannukah for a wonderful few 8 nights (I know it's not part of Christmas, but I enjoy celebrating it in addition to everything. It's got a powerful message when you think about it. ), then Christmas itself comes (about halfway through Hannukah), and immediately after it come the 12 days of Christmas, culminating on Twelfthnight in early January. Celebrations and festivities continue until February 1st (the Bride's feast, or something, something about the Bride (sometimes called St. Brigit) escaping from a hag and bringing some Spring with her. I need to research that day a bit more, methinks.

Sorry for goin' on and on about it, but I love to make merry.

Tip: it's easier to get excited if you don't worry about decorations and getting presents for people. The carols suddenly become more tolerable.

I generally prefer to worry about getting presents *from* other people. There's (almost) always another Pratchett book I don't own, or haven't read ...

For the past few years, I haven't really actually celebrated anything except at my parents' behest and at gunpoint, although now that I live by myself and actually have a choice about things, I'm likely to choose to go along with it anyway. I'd say "Funny, that," except I actually know how this works and why.

I should wish you a happy Dias de los Muertos, then! Always a fun holiday.

Yeah, it is. The Day of the Dead is a fun celebration.

I want to go on record, though, as saying that I've never cared for the sugar skulls. I've yet to have one that was actually made in Mexico for the celebration so I naturally reserve final judgement until that, but until then I have to say that I've just never cared for the sugar skulls. Decorated or not.

I've never eaten one. I'm not sure I'd eat one that came from Mexico, either. I just think they're fun to look at.

I just snagged some candy yesterday that was 50% off owing to being Halloween-themed.

I don't know why, but that reminds me that I need to stock up on peppermint cocoa now that the season is "right" for it.

Seems like it'd be cheaper to stock up on it when the season was "wrong"

But no one *sells* it when the season is wrong.