The Day That Has No Name

Ah, it's that maddening time of the year again, when people start to talk about The Day That Has No Name. I'm referring, of course, to the Holiday that everyone has to talk about but no one seems allowed to specify. Take, for instance, the following email received from the United States Postal Service (I can't seem to find any of this information on their website):

2009 Holiday Shipping Cut Off Dates
Class/Product Cut Off Date
First Class Mail Dec-21
Priority Mail Dec-21
Express Mail* Dec-23
Parcel Post Dec-16
DBMC Drop Ship Dec-19
DDU Drop Ship Dec-23
International Mail**
Express Mail Military APO/FPO**
* Some Express Mail destinations may have extended service commitments
** See additional information

and so on. Notice how all the dates converge at a point about a week before the end of December. As everyone knows, mail cannot be delivered on Dec. 25th, because this date is a federal holiday. But which federal holiday, you may ask? Well, the USPS is not about to tell you, even though they sell a whole series of "holiday" stamps, many with the word "Christmas" printed right on them.

I am more determined that ever, this year, every time someone wishes me "Happy Holidays," to respond with a quizzical look and the question, "Which Holidays do you have in mind?