’Tis the Season for No (Holiday) Celebrations
Going into the grocery store the night before Thanksgiving is always an eye-opener as shoppers race to get their last-minute ingredients for their holiday meals.
However, while some consider holidays fun, seasonal traditions, I see them as irrelevant and not worth the effort.
Did something happen to me in childhood? No. I have many fond memories of holidays with friends and family. I’ve celebrated all the holidays. But, I realized, if I want to spend time with loved ones I can do so anytime. If I want to give presents, I can do that anytime, too. I don’t have to wait for Black Friday sales (a holiday of sorts) to get the best deals. Admittedly, Black Friday was the last “holiday” for me to let go as I relinquished excessive spending. The point is that I didn’t have to wait for a particular day to go big and do these things.
I’m no Grinch or Scrooge. I do enjoy seeing the lights at Christmas time, and I won’t turn down Turkey and stuffing. I don’t live on a remote island, so if I hear “Feliz Navidad” while shopping, I’m probably going to hum along to myself. Just don’t expect me to put up a Christmas tree, make stuffing, stay up past midnight, or give out Halloween candy.
Of course, answering the question “what are you doing for x holiday?” can be a tad awkward when I respond with “nothing,” and the person gives me a sad, pitiful look or wants to know more about my lack of holiday cheer. Eventually, I stopped saying “nothing” and instead give a short, vague answer about doing something small. But I realized it’s nothing to hide. There’s no shame, and I’m not the only one to opt out of the holiday season.
Plus the benefits far outweigh everything else.
I save lots of money. No food buying, holiday decor shopping, gift giving, or transportation costs come with avoiding the holiday shuffle. I also don’t have to worry about out-of-town traffic or last-minute food shopping with packed stores (unless I forget there’s a holiday coming just like recently).
There are no expectations. I dislike feeling obligated (takes the fun out of doing nice things, no?). No one expects me to come to their house or expects to come to mine. If I give a gift, it’s because I want to give it and not simply because it’s a holiday when people are expecting one.
On the flipside, I get no unwanted gifts. The exception was my grandmother giving me toilet paper and socks for Christmas. You always need those! But the other times, I found myself resentful and thinking that I’d rather get nothing at all. It wasn’t fair to the gift giver either, so I stopped participating. As an adult, I can buy what I want without waiting for someone else to get it for me. And if it’s a surprise present, I probably didn’t need it anyway.
Traditions are nice to have, but if they aren’t working for you then consider why. Continuing to participate in something just because it’s always been done can make that tradition less fun. It took many years for me to fully realize this because I was so used to participating from childhood up until early adulthood. You can always add a new twist to regular holiday traditions to make them fun again or just not participate at all.
So while the celebrations go down, I’m going to kick back and relax while enjoying the cold, seasonal weather and maybe hope for a little snow.
