'The Happy Morning Is Over'

“Well, so that is that.” 

W.H. Auden captures the hangover, alcoholic or otherwise, of the day after Christmas. As I’ve gotten older the holiday’s passing is no longer so profoundly disappointing, but as a kid disappointment inevitably followed on disproportionate expectations. The presents were never quite what we had hoped for. Some were already broken. The dolor of Christmas afternoon had mostly passed, replaced by the dread of school’s resumption, though most of the arguing had ceased. Every year the predictable emotional roller-coaster: hope and good cheer frittered away. Remembering this exercise in ingratitude remains a little uncomfortable. The passage at the top is taken from the final section of Auden’s “For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio” (1942):

 

“Well, so that is that. Now we must dismantle the tree,

Putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes –

Some have got broken – and carrying them up to the attic.

The holly and the mistletoe must be taken down and burnt,

And the children got ready for school. There are enough

Left-overs to do, warmed-up, for the rest of the week –

Not that we have much appetite, having drunk such a lot,

Stayed up so late, attempted – quite unsuccessfully –

To love all of our relatives, and in general

Grossly overestimated our powers.”

 

And this:

 

“In the meantime

There are bills to be paid, machines to keep in repair,

Irregular verbs to learn, the Time Being to redeem

From insignificance. The happy morning is over . . .”