For several years now, I’ve been asking myself, “What happened to the holidays?” I always think, “Maybe next year,” and then next year comes, but nothing changes. The holiday season just doesn’t sparkle with magic anymore, but why? Today, I’m sharing a couple of reasons that’ll shed light on this phenomenon:
1. Most things feel more magical when we’re children
It’s almost as if there was one year when a switch flipped and suddenly turned the “magic button” off. No, but seriously, as children, the holidays felt special— winter felt like winter, but now Christmas doesn’t even feel like Christmas. Reasons for this vary from person to person, but, for most people, growing up comes with a more serious attitude; adults have more important things to worry about than holidays. Once the holiday season comes around, we’re already considering a million other responsibilities, leaving no time to look forward to festivities.
When we were children, there was ample opportunity to anticipate holidays, getting us more excited, and “in the holiday spirit.” In addition, children are usually just much happier and more imaginative; part of this stems from the lack of (major) responsibilities children have, but also experience. The fact that children have little experience with life means they also have little experience with disappointment. For many of us, holidays lose their magic because they can be associated with past disappointments and hardships.
2. Black Friday Deals are a fraction of what they used to be… a very small fraction
To lighten the tone after the last point, this is one of the less serious (but actually completely serious) points. While it isn’t the end of the world for 70% markdowns to magically become 20% over the past decade, it has contributed to the decrease in holiday spirit. If you’re on TikTok, it’s no surprise that this topic has resurfaced.
For the past 4+ years, Black Friday sales have gotten lower and lower annually. At this point, if the discounts get any lower, there will be no sales at all, but I digress. You may be asking yourself why people are suddenly mad if the sales have been trash for years.
From my experience, the recent pandemic played a large role in offering the benefit of the doubt to Black Friday sales. I assumed they might go back to normal eventually, but I think I subconsciously knew that it would only get worse— as it has. Black Friday used to be a time to look forward to; it was almost like its own holiday, separate from Thanksgiving (even if you started your shopping immediately after dinner like most people did). Now, it’s a “steal” to find an item for any more than 30% off— not holiday-worthy.
Not to mention, most of the sales take place online, which wouldn’t be terrible if they were worth it; unfortunately, paired with the fact that you don’t get the thrill of waiting in line to be first getting your hands on a $60 TV, there’s no point. I don’t even “celebrate” Black Friday anymore!
3. Being Away from family most of the season
Lastly, and probably the most relatable, being away from family during a season meant to bring family together can be disheartening. As students, many of us live away from home, which is initially fun, but can eventually become isolating, especially if you live alone. For many of us, being away from our loved ones is already challenging on a regular day— holidays only heighten the sadness.
As a UC Berkeley student, it’s even worse, as we don’t get an entire week off to spend time with family (like many other universities); let alone international students who are usually too far away to see their families during this time. Although we’re lucky to live in a time where most of us have phones to Facetime, it’s just not the same. Fortunately, the semester ends in December, at least leaving Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Hanukkah (for those who celebrate any of these).
While there‘s a myriad of reasons why holidays don’t feel festive anymore, we can always work to change that by implementing little festivities in our lives like making gingerbread houses, holiday decor, family holi-DAY, etc. to try getting back into the spirit. The first step to doing so is understanding why we don’t feel merry anymore so we can create a plan accordingly. Hopefully, this article helped to make your next holiday season sparkle!