Mark Ciommo has represented Allston-Brighton as its Boston city councilor since 2007. As a matter of fact, he’s lived in the area for his entire life and continues to reside there with his family. Suffice to say, he’s survived many an Allston Christmas.

Allston Christmas is what the near-universal September 1 move-in day — which takes place throughout Boston — is colloquially referred to by not only locals and students, but pretty much everyone else in between. As the name suggests, people moving in and out of Allston-Brighton tend to leave innumerable pieces of furniture and other belongings on the sidewalk for passersby to scoop up if so desired.

BostInno spoke with Councilor Ciommo about what to expect out of this year’s spectacle and gain some insight into why Allston Christmas has evolved into the outlandish demonstration of trash piling that it has. To put it in the bluntest way possible, Allston Christmas is a massive cluster f*ck.

As one might expect, moving in and out of Allston-Brighton specifically has always been an eccentric event and it’s really just the moniker that’s relatively new.

“I like to call it controlled chaos around moving day,” Councilor Ciommo told BostInno over the phone. “Within the last five or six years, I’ve heard the term ‘Allston Christmas’ because a lot of people moving out leave furniture and other valuables on the street for people to take. It’s become sort of an annual tradition.”

Allston, perhaps more so than Brighton, has become the epicenter of Boston’s student population. Longstanding institutions Boston University and Boston College dominate the area, though the relatively affordable cost of living has attracted students of other nearby institutions, as well as recent graduates.

Boston University alone is expecting approximately 3,900 students to arrive on campus come Monday. City of Boston Spokesperson Gabrielle Farrell confirmed that roughly 36,000 students will descend upon local colleges and universities this weekend and move piles upon heaps upon mountains of personal belongings and assorted junk into some 13,000 residential units.

These astronomical numbers parlay into a day-long showing of lost tempers, ticketed moving trucks, aching muscles and expanding masses of wood and fabric.

“It’s predominantly because of the student population,” added Councilor Ciommo. “We are surrounded by three world-class institutions and have a lower occupancy rate than other neighborhoods in the city. We have become a more transient neighborhood.”

Controlled chaos, councilor? Sounds more like utter pandemonium.

This year, though, a collaborative effort is being undertaken by a slew of Boston agencies and some of the higher-ed institutions as well. The idea, of course, is to try and temper the throes of Allston Christmas.

Departments of Public Works, Inspectional Services, Housing, Transportation and the Mayor’s Office, as well as the Boston Police Department, will all lend a helping hand in making moving day as seamless and painless as possible. They’ll afford movers an abundance of resources to bolster this effort by setting up a tent on Brighton Avenue in the thick of Allston Christmas as a nerve center of sorts.

Boston College, too, will have a similar tent set up near its campus along Lake Street.

“Since I’ve been a Councilor, I’ve walked the streets, especially the areas close to the campuses of BU and BC in particular, and I’ve seen some deplorable conditions over the years,” posited Councilor Ciommo. “The turnover from one set of tenants to the other has left people in these conditions, sometimes not even able to move in.”

Don’t believe the good councilor? Just breeze through these photos real quick, courtesy of the City of Boston archives.

Aside from policing the streets to keep the sidewalks from enduring excessive trash, making sure peoples’ street occupancy permits are legitimate and upholding safety on the streets, there’s little else municipal officials can do to ease the process. They’ll be on hand enforcing the rules and providing assistance for anyone who needs it.

Have an idea for making Allston Christmas a more cheery experience? Drop some knowledge and leave your thoughts in the comments section below.