Why the Way You Handle the Holidays Can Make or Break Your Relationship
Study reveals how holiday rituals impact a couple’s future
The holiday season is almost here and couples are about to embark on a series of rituals to celebrate. Although they may think how they handle these celebrations occurs in a vacuum and doesn’t have any larger implications on the relationship, their future may actually depend on it.
“Rituals seem to really play a role in pausing and slowing down individuals, helping them take a better look at their relationship.”
“Rituals provide a unique time to review one’s partner and relationship; you get to see a host of behaviors and interactions that might normally be obscured,” said Chris Maniotes, who published a study in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships about the impact of rituals on couples. “Some of the ways rituals affected commitment to wed with these couples was by altering their view of their partner, giving them a new perspective.”
In order to find out exactly how people get this new perspective, Maniotes interviewed 24 heterosexual couples who had been together for two-and-a-half years about what rituals meant for the future of their relationships…
