With the holiday season in full swing, keep sight of what is important
Brooke Hammarskjold | Print Editor
Photo by Becky Swig
There’s no doubt that the Holidays, as loved as they are, are a crazy time of year filled with lots of preparation, anticipation and expectation. Starting the day after Thanksgiving, the impending cloud that surrounds the December holiday season is launched into full force. Christmas music is blasted everywhere, decorations are set up, and the Starbucks cups turn red. As festive as all these traditions are, they are also dangerous as they lead to expectations, and, as we all know, high expectations are only created to then be disappointed.
The whole month of December is a train ride at full speed towards the final destination of Christmas morning when those gifts we’ve been hoping and waiting for are forcefully unwrapped and finally sit in our impatient hands. However, if they don’t end up in our grasp, we are inevitably disappointed and maybe even angry. While the Christmas season can be exciting and filled with warmth, the expectations that accompany it cause us to lose sight of what Christmas should be about: gratitude, happiness and family.
I’m certainly not saying I am exempt from this at time superficial whirlwind of Christmas frenzy. I am embarrassed to say that growing up, I definitely had a Christmas morning or two with disappointment and maybe even tears if I didn’t get what I had been hoping for or I felt like my siblings got more than I did. Recently, I’ve realized the importance of taking Christmas slowly, still enjoying all the Christmas festivities and listening to my favorite Michael Bublé and Nat King Cole songs but without taking the expectations of the perfect Christmas too seriously. In order to be truly happy when the day finally comes, I’ve come to take all the Christmas preparation with a grain of salt.
These expectations do not only apply to Christmas. Take New Year’s Eve for example. It has the reputation that it must be the craziest, most celebratory night ever filled with lights, music and staying up past midnight. There have been New Year’s where I haven’t been doing much and on any other day I wouldn’t care about my lack of excitement but since I have this expectation that I should be having fun, I inevitably feel bad about myself.
How many of us have been disappointed with the outcome of a Valentines Day or Birthday? Probably most. The expectations that accompany any holiday are treacherous and leave us frustrated at a lack of something in our lives on days on which we should be thankful and celebrate the great parts of life. So, as we approach New Years and soon enough, Valentines Day, it’s important to take all these holiday expectations not too seriously.
