By Noah Stein
I was on the phone with a friend recently who asked me how I feel about the holiday season. “I love the holiday season!” I replied. “What a great time of year: a chance to spend quality time with family and friends, to celebrate, to eat delicious food. Yep, nothing could be better than those two months of the holiday season: June 18th through August 11th!”
“June 18th through August 11th?” my friend wondered aloud in confusion.
Their confusion didn’t register with me. I explained that one of my favorite days of the holiday season is Paul Bunyan Day. “Ever since I was a Swamper I’ve just loved how that day feels. I love the sense of togetherness that we build, and the mutual understanding that we’re all going to try our absolute best. Everyone agrees that the point is really just to have fun, regardless of the outcome. There’s this incredible sense of camaraderie within our respective logging companies, and even between companies, as we all decide to buy into the spirit of the day together…”
“Umm, Noah..”
“…and I love all the traditions that contribute to our Paul Bunyan Day celebration every year: the bullhorn wakeup, the massive pancakes prepared by Hot Biscuit Slim himself, and the Bull of the Woods saying, ‘Eat hearty my friends!’ I get goosebumps just thinking about those traditions. And, of course, the events themselves are great, like voyageur rendezvous. I mean, name a cooler way to kick off a holiday than a 1 v. 1 tug-of-war tournament between the Boss Loggers…”
“Noah…”
“…and don’t even get me started on the tent peg relay!”
“Slow down for a second,” my friend insisted.
But I could barely hear them, I was too excited. “…and the sound of the Rec Hall during breakfast and lunch. Those roaring chants are incredible, the ‘they will shake’s’ and ‘brouhahas’ and…”
“Noah, hold up! What are you talking about? Bull of the what? Who is Hot Biscuit Slim? What’s a ‘brouhaha’?’”
Then it struck me… “Ohhh, you were a second session kid! Paul Bunyan Day is kind of like the Grand Pursuit, except the Grand Pursuit is based on the French Voyageur fur trading tradition, as opposed to Paul Bunyan Day which celebrates deforesta–I mean, Lumberjack lore. But I’m glad you mentioned the Grand Pursuit. It’s another one of my favorite days of the holiday season, a day that really brings people together…”
“Second session?”
My tempo increased as I hastily lectured, “The Grand Pursuit makes you feel like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself – a family! As you know, it all starts the night before the big day, when the new campers get sorted into their teams for the first time, teams they’ll stay on throughout their camper careers…”
“Um…”
“Everyone cheers as the new campers’ names are read aloud and they run over to celebrate with their new team. Campers really feel included right off the bat. There’s so much inclusion on a day of competition, who would have thought?”
“Can you just listen for a sec…”
“…There are so many awesome events on the Grand Pursuit too, like canoe fill, and the color crayon scramble, and pushball, and sawbuck. There’s really something for everyone. Of course there’s the gigantic board game too. Everyone’s points from their events throughout the day are used to play a big board game as a whole camp. When I watch the campers play the board game every year, I am amazed that the teams tackle the difficult task of conspiring together in such a large group to make the best strategic moves. They persevere, even when Pierre introduces a new twist to the game. And I forgot, we have cream puffs for dessert at dinner! And at the end of the night there’s always that irresponsibly large fire that the pushes light…”
“NOAH!”
“Yeah?”
“You’re doing it again! What in the world is the Grand Pursuit? And Pierre? What’s going on?” my friend exclaimed.
“Ha, good one,” I said. “What, next you’re going to tell me you’ve never heard of the All Camp Birthday either?”
My friend’s confusion turned to worry. “Truly, I have no idea what you’re talking about, and frankly I’m a little concerned about you, Noah. Are you sure you’re handling the stress of your new job all right? It’s a lot of responsibility and I imagine that following in Steph and Adam’s footsteps can feel…”
“…I’m fine, I swear!” I was in shock. Was I being gaslit? “Let me just get this straight, you’re telling me you’ve never heard of Paul Bunyan Day?” I asked. “Or The Grand Pursuit?”
Silence.
“Well,” I considered, “I guess I should avoid judgment. People celebrate a bunch of different holidays. I just figured these were kind of universal. At least tell me you’ve heard of the 4th of July.”
“Obviously I’ve heard of the 4th of July, but I thought we were talking about the holiday season. The 4th of July happens in the su…”
“…summer, exactly. Maybe you need a refresher on your months of the year, pal, but the 4th of July takes place between June 18th and August 11th, the holiday season.”
Frustrated, my friend pushed back, “It does, Noah, but that’s not the holiday season!”
“Ok, now I’m confused. How is the 4th of July not part of the holiday season? Do you at least have apple pie and ice cream for breakfast? Do you watch the town parade waiting eagerly for firefighters to throw candy at you? Do you sometimes celebrate the 4th of July on July 5th depending on the Village of Lake Nebagamon’s parade schedule? You must watch the JCs try valiantly to take down the SCs in the annual softball game and eat ‘feed ‘em freedom sundaes’, right? What about fireworks?”
“Well, I watch fireworks but…”
“Finally! A holiday that we have in common. Wow! I know the holiday season is months away, but I can hardly wait.”
My friend, bewildered, hurried me off the phone, muttering something about “gift shopping.”
I did some research about this alleged “winter holiday season” later on. I couldn’t believe it when I discovered that for some people, the holiday season is a period that lasts from something called “Thanksgiving” (which, from what I can tell, is like a Keylog ceremony with turkey) to “New Years Day,” and I think there are a handful of other holidays in between that people also celebrate.
From what I’ve read, this winter holiday season seems reminiscent of the summer holiday season I know and love. As I understand it, people often try to take some time to disconnect from work and school and connect with family and friends. They celebrate with shared traditions, and eat special food, just like during the summer holidays. That all sounds pretty great to me. I’m thinking I might give the winter holiday season a shot this year! The geniuses who invented the winter holiday season were certainly on to something.
Even with these new holidays on my horizon, however, I can’t wait for the other holiday season, the one in the summer. This time of year, I really miss it. Sure, I miss those big days of the holiday season, the Paul Bunyan Days and Grand Pursuits. But it’s not only the big ones I yearn for. I miss all the little holidays in between: the perfect “quad prod SIs”, cabin cookouts, village barbeques and Cruiser Days.
I even miss the more routine days as well, the ones that are mere moments between the big events. I miss morning songs and watching campers overcome their homesickness. I miss shouting “buddies!” on the H-dock, sermonettes, and MOCA horse-n-goggles. I miss laughing until I cry, and the tears we shed with our arms around each other during the last Keylog ceremony of a session (or every Keylog ceremony if you are Steph). Those little moments sit as large in my heart as the big ones. I miss that during the holiday season called “summer camp”, every moment of every day is a holiday.
Hoping that your little moments are as meaningful as your big ones this winter holiday season.
The skills campers build and practice in that transition to camp are crucial for all sorts of transitions coming down the line – heading to sleepovers in the winter, or moving out of their childhood home to college in a future year, or moving back home to be near their family way down the line. I think it’s due to Nebagamon that I like to nest quickly. I like to get my bed made, unpack all the boxes, put things on the walls, and make the house feel like a home. Because once that’s all done… I can go play foursquare!
