Louisa Burton | BOUND IN MOONLIGHT

It’s December 26, Boxing Day, one of my all-time favorite holidays. Not that I
know what it’s about—I looked it up in Wikipedia and I still don’t get it—but
because it marks the winding down of the annual Chrismahanukwanzakah Festivity
Vortex. Much as I love the holidays, this time of year tends to make me just a
little bit tense. It always seems like there’s a whole lot more stuff to do
than I have time for in my already harried life, and I have to admit to a sigh
of relief when it’s all over but for New Year’s—which, in our upstate New York
household, means champagne and cigars with our closest pals as we huddle under
afghans in the “smoking lounge” (our screened-in back deck) until the wee
hours. My favorite night of the year.