Well, I think you know, but I'll just start slowly. ...
So at my current job we are required to work half a day on Christmas Eve, or its equivalent. I remember frantically trying to get all my affairs in order before I left the building (and not being able to get back onto my floor because the building shut down and my badge didn't work), and then frantically going to the Mall of America to people-watch (I think), Southdale to pick up some cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Version) to boob-watch, then a grocery store to pick up some things for the pasta I was planning to make. All of those places were closing early for Christmas Eve, obviously, so having those four mandatory hours at work pushed all those things back.
This year, of course, was a different story. Since Eve fell on a Saturday, this half-day fell on Friday. However, all the retail stores were open regular hours because December 23 was an ordinary day. That meant I could people-watch at MOA after work without rush, and then head to Target to pick up a gift card for my brother and sister-in-law. The following day was Christmas Eve, but since I didn't have to go to work, I had time to go to Caffetto to work on the Internet, stop by our alumni spot to make sure we could watch our game there, travel to Southdale and pick up the cheesecake, and go to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Division) to relax ... only when I got there, they decided to close. Oh, well -- I had time to go to Old Chicago to watch a bit of some NFL games there. What I'm saying is that I felt like I could do everything I wanted to do over those two days. If Christmas Eve fell on a Thursday, like last year, all those things I wanted to do would be compressed into one day (really a half-day after work).
It gets better. By law (or until the Trump Administration overturns it), we all get Christmas Day off -- or its equivalent. Since Day fell on Sunday, we get Monday, today, off. But again, to retail stores, today is December 26. Not only are there regular hours, there probably are extended hours to accommodate all those who wanted to use the gift cards they got as gifts or return the gifts they don't like. It's like having two days off instead of one!
I was at MOA this afternoon, and it looked as though it was busier than Christmas Eve was. It probably was busier than it was on Friday, the 23rd. In fact, I'm guessing it was more crowded today than it was on Saturday the 17th, what some people say is the most-lucrative shopping day of the season. (Aside: There were some lines. I saw one to get into a beauty shop, which I don't get. But the longest line? Lululemon. Were they running a sale? I didn't think yoga pants were so popular.)
I understand that at this place I'm working at, we will always get 1 1/2 days off. But it feels different when you add what you want to do with that time off. Christmas Eve and Day are Sunday and Monday next year. That means that we'll get Friday afternoon off, which is the afternoon of December 22, which feels really far to "celebrate" Christmas Eve. We'll also have Monday off too, like this year. But Monday in 2017 is Christmas Day, when no one goes out. We'll be home with no place to go ... and then the next day we're back at work. That's not happening this year. And that's why having these two days fall precisely on the weekend makes this such an enjoyable holiday for me.
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