[UPDATE BELOW] Thousands of Long Island Railroad and Metro-North commuters had a pretty miserable post-holiday Monday yesterday when their new monthly MetroCards failed to work, thanks to a fun coding glitch. This is just one more reason why the month of December should be canceled, along with SantaCon, repeat television airings of Love, Actually, tree murder, and midnight at 4 p.m.

According to the MTA, about 7,100 Long Island customers and 2,800 Metro-North riders received worthless 30-day MetroCards for the month of December, which were sent to them as part of the agency's Mail & Ride program. Commuters who swiped their new cards were treated to a fun "INSUFFICIENT FARE" warning, leading to long lines at turnstiles and forcing most to purchase their own cards for the day. Naturally, this caused people some stress:

$382 a month. Monday morning rush hour and my MetroCard doesn't work?! Seriously @LIRR @MTA ?!? — Anne Winberry (@annewinberry) December 1, 2014

@lirr train delays this am in the Port Wash branch to Penn, and I swipe my Metrocard to find you messed up everyone's Dec cards!! UGH — Andrea Bruzzese (@Andiuru) December 1, 2014

I love finding out the hard way that my unlimited metrocard from @LIRR doesn't work... I guess they never heard of email? #lirrproblems — Katie Santo (@heyjustkatie) December 1, 2014

Thank you @MTA for charging an ABSURD amount of $ for my monthly ticket + an unlimited #metrocard that doesn't work #goodjob #ilovecommuting — Katie (@Hungry_Runner) December 1, 2014

The MTA is asking those affected by the glitch—approximately 2,800 Metro-North and 7,200 Long Island Rail Road riders—to purchase their own 30-day MetroCards for the month of December. But the agency says they'll post $119 credits to Mail & Ride accounts, covering the $1 new card fee and the price of Monday's commute. The MTA did not immediately respond to our request for comment, but spokesperson Aaron Donovan told the Times that though the agency was not sure how yesterday's error occurred, "it’s not expected to ever happen again." Ban December.

Update 10:06 a.m.: The MTA sent us the following statement: