The Legend of Peter's Eve

It all began in the fall of 1993. I was in Mrs. Steinmetz’s 4th grade class. It was there that I learned insects were to be called insects not bugs, that my hands could create a Paper Mache Baltimore Oriole, no matter how hard I tried to sabotage my own creation, and finally that needle pointing was a lot more difficult then it looked. But all of this paled in comparison to the truly important event. My tenth birthday, a milestone of epic proportions. No longer a single digiter, I was going to enter double digits in age.

Legend had it that you were never really the same after you made the plunge. Food didn’t taste the same, you couldn’t watch cartoons anymore, you were expected to act like an adult? But it wasn’t all that bad. Since it was such a big milestone, it meant that you got more presents, better presents. That is why every child in the history of childom took the plunge. And I was no different.

As the calendar changed from November to December, my excitement level grew by leaps and bounds everyday. Each new day brought me a day closer to my destiny. The cake, the attention, and most importantly the presents. It was beginning to be too much for my young mind to handle. The pressure was beginning to get the best of me.

Then it came, December 15th. The day before my birthday. Now as any person can testify too, the day before something you have been really looking forward to, whether it is a family vacation, a break from school, or your birthday, is the LONGEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE! But for a kid, it is even worse. It felt like two whole days put together just to spite me. Was the universe playing some cruel joke on me?

The thought of this brought great fear into my young and impressionable mind. Because this was the longest day in recorded history, would my family and friends somehow forget that tomorrow was my birthday? Yes, yes they would. Panic began to come over me. I could not allow this to happen. I had to think of a way to gently and politely remind everyone that tomorrow was not just any ordinary day. It was a special day, it was my tenth birthday, and we were going to remember it whether they wanted to or not!

Then it happened. I do not remember who I said it too first, or the time of day, but at some point, I blurted it out. TODAY IS PETER’S EVE, I cried. There were blank stares all around. I needed to reason with them. I had to justify my inane rambling. If Christmas could have an eve, if New Year’s could have an eve, why couldn’t I have an eve too? Peter’s Eve, boy did it sound good, it just rolled off the tongue. I was onto something. So for the rest of the day, anyone I met, I had to inform him or her that it was Peter’s Eve.

Much to my surprise it began to catch on. People began wishing me a Happy Peter’s Eve. Friends, teachers, and finally my parents are bought into it. It worked; I had successful created a new Holiday to remind everyone of my birthday. And the rest as they say is history. To this day, I receive messages from people wishing me a Happy Peter’s Eve. So this December 15th, remember to wish you and yours a very Happy Peter’s Eve.