A Masque of Days From the Last Essays of Elia: Newly Dressed & Decorated

The narrative opens with an imaginative banquet hosted for the entire calendar as the old year dies and the new one comes of age. All the Days—Festivals, Fasts, VIGILS, and even the reluctant Easter and Shrove Tuesday—receive invitation cards sent by twelve bustling little messengers. They gather around a massive table set for three hundred and sixty‑five guests, each Day arriving in costume that mirrors its character, from rain‑soaked Rainy Days to a regal Lady Day in a tiffany white‑and‑gold dress.

Amid the clatter of plates and the chatter of personified dates, playful disputes erupt. April Fool, acting as a mischievous master of ceremonies, shuffles the schedule, pairing June’s Twenty‑First with December’s Twenty‑Second and wedging Ash Wednesday between Christmas and Lord Mayor’s Day. The scene swirls with absurdities—a calf’s head mistakenly served, a turkey‑laden Doomsday, and a frantic debate between a Whig‑styled August and a Tory‑styled April—capturing the chaos and charm of a calendar brought to life.