Brace yourself, the holiday season is now upon us. In the following 61 days, four major holidays will be taking place: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. As each holiday passes, the days will get colder, the sun will set earlier, the rain will change to snow, and the leaves will disappear as winter begins.
Now as life is slowly sucked from the landscape, humanity only increases. Halloween is a night of spectacle — little kids run around in their homemade costumes, young adults celebrate at parties, and the older generations hand out candy while aggressively calling in noise complaints. After Halloween comes Thanksgiving. A time of year when we start to reconnect with our families, both the given and chosen. At our Thanksgiving dinners, we take a moment and think about what we have to be grateful for. We give thanks for all we have and all we have been given.
Next comes Christmas. For those who are religious in the Christian faith, it is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. For those who do not subscribe to this religion, it is a time to spend with family and friends. Give gifts and enjoy the cold weather. Watch movies, bake cookies, and enjoy the time off from work or school. Finally, New Year’s Eve. The final day of the year is used for celebrating the previous 364 days. People gather with their loved ones and celebrate a combination of the previous three holidays. They throw parties, give thanks, and spend time with those they love. And when the clock finally strikes midnight, the holiday season concludes, giving way to the new year.
These upcoming 61 days are hands down the most joyful, emotional, and stressful of the entire year. Although each holiday is based in joy, the side effects of this much happiness are quickly revealed. It starts on the day after Halloween, where you have to reckon with what you remember from the night before. Then comes Thanksgiving, when seeing relatives can bring about some unresolved conflicts, not to mention the stress of the person hosting the meal. With Christmas comes the memories of those we have lost and the longing that we could spend one more holiday with them. Finally, New Year’s Eve arrives, forcing a recollection of the last year and a reflection of what you failed to accomplish. With every holiday, there are ups and downs but having four in a row can feel like suckerpunch after suckerpunch.
Fear not, I have some advice for anyone dreading the remainder of this year:
First, remember to breathe. These coming days will be stressful, but you’ve gotten through it before.
Second, make time for yourself. I know this can seem like a tall order given all the chaos that tends to unfold but, try it. Either when you first wake up or are about to go to sleep, take a moment for yourself, just to exist for a minute.
Third, think about the ones you love the most. Now this can be your sibling, parent, partner, or even just a friend but, take the time over the next two months to celebrate with who you want. Whether it is your given family or your chosen family, make time to enjoy the presents of people you want to be around. Don’t just be a fly on the wall at parties and gatherings, laugh, cry, and reminisce with the ones you love.
So, the holiday season has begun, and although it can become a very stressful time for everyone, it can also be the best time of the year. So brace yourself.
