Ah, that special time of the year is approaching, the holidays! It’s the most wonderful time of the year, filled with laughter, bonding, friends and family, and much more… of course, that’s what the Christmas commercials say when they want to lure you in with their mediocre priced Christmas sales. That’s not to say the holidays are not the most wonderful time of the year, but because it is especially emphasized in society and western culture, holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are major events of stress. Let me tell you why… The Holidays are a festive time of the year. When September usually hits, every year on social media you see status updates, tweets, blogs and posts generally anticipating the oncoming arrival of “spooky szn”, or “turkey day” and of course replays of Mariah Carey’s hit “All I Want for Christmas” single on the radio. It’s all cute and fun, until you’re hit with the holiday stress! What is holiday stress? It’s the stress associated with the holidays, pretty self-explanatory.
Let’s talk about why the holidays are stressful.
First things first, for Halloween you have to choose your costume. It may not seem like a stressful thing, but when it comes to indecisive people such as myself, the endless possibilities seem daunting. Not to mention after choosing your costume, you’ve got to make Halloween plans! To go to a Halloween party, to stay in and watch spooky movies, or to trick adults into thinking you’re a twelve year old and go trick-or-treating… so many things to plan out. Next thing is Thanksgiving, probably the second most stressful day of these holidays! It’s stressful for me to speak about it considering I’m an adult now, and rather than just sitting around waiting for the “grown folk” to cook the turkey and other dishes, I find that now I’m in the kitchen helping them out. Cooking on Thanksgiving Day is so stressful it almost ruins my appetite for the whole affair, key word is almost. Not only would you have to help cook the meals, you also have to take part in planning the whole affair with family and friends as to where the dinner would take place, what dishes to bring, what are the after dinner plans, and so on…
Last of the holidays, Christmas. It’s the most stressful time of the year! Growing up, Christmas was a time every child looked forward to: Christmas break, presents, time with family, and much more. But as you get older you realize Christmas feels less like Christmas every year. That childhood magic runs dry when you realize Santa doesn’t exist and instead you have to be the one buying gifts for literally everyone you are close to. Not only that but living the northeast of the United States, snow becomes less pretty and more of a pain when you’re finally an adult. Icy roads are scary and they suck, having your car snowed in is the worst! Canceled snow days are also great, but then again you’d just be making up all that extra coursework and days both as a college student and high school student… Don’t get me started on the sales, yeah they seem nice, but are they worth all the money I’m spending? No, not really, but am I still going to buy all the stuff I don’t need for myself and other people? Yes, of course! The holidays are stressful, yes. It’s stressful because of the hustle and bustle of getting things prepared to make memorable moments with loved ones. But other than that, and the additional spending done, these times are the best in the world. To spend nights dancing with a ghoul, to sit around the table and feast on roast beast, and to rock around the Christmas tree with people you’re close to irreplaceable. Holiday stress is bad, yes, but these few times of the year that we tend to experience this may just be worth it for a wonderful out come. Happy Holidays!
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