Humbug Day! Oh, and maybe also the End of the World....

Humbug Day is for all those who have gotten heartily sick of Christmas preparations, holiday commercials, hearing "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," and all that sort of stuff. You know who you are.

In the Northern Hemisphere, today is also the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. From here on out... well, from here on until June... the days will be getting longer again.

That is, the days will start getting longer again if there are any days left at all. There is still the question of whether the end of the latest Mayan "long count" calendar portends the end of the world. There may be other, more prosaic, explanations, as suggested above.

If the world doesn't end, you can celebrate Crossword Puzzle Day. Usual Suspect Holidays for Everyday says today is National Flashlight Day. Several of the Usual Suspects also proclaim today Forefathers Day, apparently because of the fact that, on this day in 1620, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The Mayflower had, however, been cruising around the neighborhood for several weeks prior to this.

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Mayan calendar cartoon obtained from this site.