Every year, we watch as holiday decorations rise up near the end of November, like Christmas lights, wreaths, inflatable snowmen, and other such novelties. At some points, it seems to me that families are sizing each other up, attempting to have the finest holiday decorations and be the brightest house on the block. December comes and passes with us handing out our presents and making new memories.
And then comes the celebration of the New Year—a day where we feast on pizza bagels, drink wine and champagne, and for some, Indulge in the festive excess of fornication with significant others.
But then it all simply ends. After New Year's Day, things return to the way they were before the holidays. There's no pay off or continuation—everything just falls off a proverbial plateau into the abyss. At least until the holidays come around once more.
The question I raise is, why? I understand the fact that we have a semi-major holiday In November—though the importance of Thanksgiving is debated—followed by December, the month of many religious holidays. And then New Year's, which is a single day of celebration. Then after it all, we take out our garbage. Whether it be wrapping paper, or empty bottles of alcohol, or food that has simply gone plain rotten. And then in the end, it seems as if the spirit vanishes all together.
Yes, we hold onto the residual memories of our holiday experiences, remembering family and the new presents that we got, playing and using them as their designation demands. We even laugh about new jokes and old memories of the events of the year that has past. But even so, the fact stands:
The holidays are very anticlimactic.
There's so much buildup, so much celebration, then a ball drops and we return to our everyday lives. Some plan out their coming semesters at school, others plan finances and what they're going to do at work. We get nothing. The holiday season just stops. And sure, there is Valentine's Day in February, but even that is over a month away.
So much buildup and celebration for it all to vanish in an evening. There's no declining action after the climax, to put it into the terms of a writer. the situation is made even more humorous when you realize that it's apparently okay to put Christmas decorations out in November, but they must be taken down before Valentine's Day.
It's a phenomenon I don't think we'll truly ever understand. I simply see it all as a desire to continually move forward. Or to just usher in a new season as quickly as possible. Whatever the cause, the effect is obvious, and bothering, too. After all, why spend so much time and money on preparing for the holiday season if the spirit of it all is just going to vanish with the snap of a finger?
