What Is The Period Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve Called?

Sara Kasim

Humans have a name for everything but not a single agreed name for the few days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

These are not just some random days, as it is the time between the birth of Christ and the death of a year. This is when no one knows what day of the week it is. It is when you ask your parents why you cannot start drinking at 10h00. Why not, huh? What should we call the time between Christmas and the new year?

As I said before, the Earth rotates full cycle around the sun and at every interval, we turn it into a reason to drink and smash our livers into a puree. When these days arrive all logic and sense go through the window and our animal selves come out in broad daylight.

You have decided to visit your folks and the rest of your siblings join you and you have just tolerated them the entire Family Day and it is done. You suddenly realise that you don’t like your mother’s second child because she makes those pig-like noises from her nasal cavity as she tries to scratch it to ease the itch caused by allergies.

As you walk out of the full house to your car, you find your ever drunk uncle who works at Rosh Pinah drinking the last bottle of Harriers you hid under the seat and next to him lies your packet of Benson & Hedges Mild empty under his left foot as he exhales the last smoke into your face.

Relax. You don’t hate your family. You hate the time between Xmas and NYE.

Or this guy took you to Swakopmund and managed to get the last available room 600 meters from the ocean and you have to check out and have not had time to think about what is next. He tells you he is driving to Kamanjab to be with his family for New Year’s Eve and would rather like to drive straight via Henties Bay, Uis and Khorixas to save fuel. Then he leans over the table, holds your hand as if to kiss it and says softly, “I can give you some money for the ‘7 Seaters’, just tell me where you are going”. Boom!

You thought this will never end.

You do not know where you would rather be and you start conjuring up some argument about him just using you for Christmas. Haha. No, my dear, you are experiencing the limbo of the days between Xmas and NYE.

Oh, here is another one about this Tate who has contributed to the family WhatsApp group for the Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties at the village family gathering at Omashekediva. He is now left with nothing but the fuel money to go back to Windhoek on 3 January 2022. So he parks the Mercedes C200 at his dilapidated mud hut and walks to all the nearby shebeens on foot zula-ing for a glass of beer served at room temperature.

Christmas was lit and he knows New Year’s will be even bigger with some of his friends firing their weapons into the air at the midnight hour (dangerous and reckless behaviour). But he has the next four days telling himself that he hates the north. No Tate, you were just not ready for the days between Xmas and NYE.

I love those four days because I always plan for it, always lock the boot where I hide my backup bottle and I always, always, have people to make fun of during that time. What do you call the time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve?

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.