Ho, ho _ hold that holiday thought.

Whatever seasonal spirit resides on Capitol Hill these days has been driven into the shadows by the churlish mood of lawmakers wrestling a last-minute work load and punting a whole other list of difficult issues into next year. Maybe, the thinking goes, there'll be more love around Valentine's Day.

It just might take that long for everyone to stand down. Behind carved office doors and out in the glare of the Senate chamber, tension has built for weeks as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid struggled to herd and to hold the 60 votes required to advance the health care overhaul that could affect every single American _ not to mention the 2010 midterm elections.

Bickering and general snappishness have bubbled over matters big and small, from policy to floor procedure and now, the prospect of negotiating the massive health care bill through Christmas Eve.

"Harry Christmas," staffers and even some lawmakers have taken to muttering in a dig at the besieged Senate leader. There's a degree of payback even in the pun: Four years ago, it was "Merry Fristmas," when Republican Leader Bill Frist kept the Senate in sullen session through the holidays.

Those who work in Congress are wary about griping publicly. At least they have jobs in a recession that's turned 10 percent of the nation out of work. That's tens of millions of Americans, which is to say constituents and eligible voters.

No one's denying their fondness for the recesses that Congress takes several times a year. December is one such traditional break, but it's not going to happen anytime soon.

The House spent Wednesday scrambling through its final business for the year, voting to pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, ensure the jobless don't lose their benefits and prevent the government from defaulting on its mushrooming debt. The Senate was far behind with at least a week more of work on the health care bill and other must-do legislation, including the House-passed defense bill.

There will be two-month extensions on several major acts to expire at the end of the year, including an extension of unemployment benefits for some jobless Americans; a health insurance subsidy for the unemployed; highway and transit funding; the USA Patriot Act and a bill to shield doctors from a scheduled cut in Medicare payments.

With all of that high-pressure context, three matters seemed to bring tempers to a boil by midweek.