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What I love about the holidays (Or
so I’m told)
By Derek Hurley
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[December 04, 2015]
The holiday season has returned. I suppose I
should add “at last” to that sentence, as I am sure most people feel
that holidays are, as the song says, “The most wonderful time of the
year.” For most people, this time of year is one for creating good
memories with loved ones, for celebrating a Holy sense of Spirit, or
for giving thanks that they have made it through one more year.
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 The holiday season is more like a holiday in and of itself.
Somewhere in July, a clock strikes midnight and one continual
Christmas party starts. At two a.m. we stop to throw a Halloween
party, and at five a.m. we stop for Thanksgiving. That’s right - we
interrupt our holiday season for other holidays. Imagine that. What
follows is a virtual twenty-two hours of what we are told is mirth
and merriment.
Like any other holiday party, everyone is too loud and boisterous
for anything productive to get done or solid memories to really be
made. Only since there is time in between seeing each other, we get
to hear the same terrible opinions from Uncle Jack twice in the same
year. No, Jack, I don’t remember how you feel about Cousin Jimmy’s
wedding in 1999. Why not tell me again?
But maybe I’m wrong. I’m told every year that I need to lighten up
and enjoy the spirit of the season. Maybe they’re right. Maybe there
are so many great things about this time of year that I need to
embrace like a bad sweater or my stomach after too much canned
“sauce.”
 What do I love about the holidays, I wonder?
Thanksgiving
- I love the placement of Thanksgiving in the calendar. Every
January I glue myself to the inevitable desk calendar that I
received at Christmas, trying to identify those rare times of
the upcoming year when I might be able to get some sleep.
Thanksgiving is like a surprise birthday; you never know when it
will arrive. Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November,
but that never feels right. Thanksgiving, much like the
relatives that show up for it, always feels too early or too
late. To further the image, Thanksgiving is like that niece who
dyes her hair every year; she doesn’t want to be like your good
ol’ predictable nephew Christmas, who always manages to get the
same haircut. But Thanksgiving is the unique holiday in the
family - she was born on a Thursday; just enough time left to go
back to work the next day.
- I love seeing my family every year at Thanksgiving, and the
endless game of tag that arises trying to organize it. Since it
was decided that Thanksgiving and Thursday start with the same
letters, so they clearly have to go together, planning such an
event is like planning a convention. Everyone is coming in from
everywhere else. My heart beats a little faster when I see a
traffic jam in November; people are training themselves for that
special day when they drive four hours to eat something they
could buy any other time of the year. But remember - it’s back
to work tomorrow, so there will only be so many hours of clear
highways.
- I love the second Thanksgiving that arrives, usually on
Saturday. After all, a family tree has two branches, if not
more. I love preparing myself for not just one, but two or even
three opportunities to make a fool of myself as I attempt to
separate the turkey.
- I love the tradition of a Thanksgiving menu, centering on
the rejected lunch meat that is turkey, especially when there
are two of them to choose from. You read that right - a lot of
families buy two turkeys at Thanksgiving, just to be sure you’ll
be sick to death of it once the leftovers are gone. I love it
when my aunt gets mad at me after I don’t get a third helping,
since there is so much food to be had. How is it my fault that
you made the decision to bring a second ham and it’s barely been
touched?
- I love the television programs that come on during
Thanksgiving, especially football. Nothing says the spirit of
togetherness and thanks than watching grown men wearing plastic
slam into each other over a football that is on the other side
of the field. And all the people in the stands - why aren’t they
at home with their loved ones, giving thanks? Clearly they are
celebrating a different season.
- There is one thing I legitimately love about Thanksgiving. I
love the coma that settles in just after the first bite of
desert. I know that I will wake up just in time to see the last
guest decide that maybe they will stay for a night cap after
all. Lucky me.
[to top of second column] |
 Christmas
- Christmas - where do I begin? To start, I love the timing of
Christmas. If you listen to the television, Christmas starts in
July with a programming block of specials and movies. Nothing
makes me think of snow and holiday tradition than ninety-degree
temperatures and a barbecue. Actually, that sounds like a pretty
good Christmas, now that I think of it.
- I love the spirit of giving that comes around every year
with the return of Christmas shopping. That almost doesn’t feel
right to say; shouldn’t I be complaining about people being
greedy for presents? I would say that, but the sight of Black
Friday mobs and the chaos that ensues only reminds me that these
shoppers are looking for sales so they can give something to
somebody else. If you’re willing to cause a stampede just so Mom
can get a new waffle iron for half price, maybe it’s not a
question of greed after all.
- I am in awe when I see Christmas decorations in stores.
After all, nobody was buying anything in the clearance isle; why
not replace it with wrapping paper the day before Halloween? If
stores were smart, they would just replace the clearance sign
with a Christmas sign and be done with it. Maybe then the stuff
would sell.
- I love seeing my family members at Christmas, even though I
am still reeling from Thanksgiving. I am all too eager to hear
them tell somebody else the same story I heard a month before,
because, let’s be honest - chances are, not much has changed for
them since then. On top of that, I love answering the same
questions every year with the same answers. “Yes, I’m still
writing. Yes, I’m still in school. No, I haven’t gotten married
yet.” The best part of the holiday is getting to know the people
who somehow weren’t around for Thanksgiving, as there is always
an entirely new set of people to try and get to know for the
next three hours before they disappear. They may or may not be
back next year, after all.
- I love eating the same food I ate at Thanksgiving for
Christmas. Evidently I don’t get enough ham in my diet as it is.
- Opening presents is always fun at Christmas. It’s just so
exciting watching the youngest ones, the babies, try to smack at
a gift in a vain attempt to open it, only for Mom to open it and
be more excited over the fifty-third Sesame Street shirt. After
the youngest family members are done “opening” their gifts,
suddenly we have to open everything one person at a time.
Nothing is more comforting than a few dozen people staring at
you, expecting you to smile and laugh with joy as you open a
gift from someone you only see once a year. At least you get a
turn to stare back.
Maybe I’ve said too much. The holiday season is indeed a
season for friends and family. After all, every year the
holidays pass, and even a curmudgeon is disappointed when the
best part of a dreary time of year has passed. Maybe that’s why
it’s at the end of the year; we have to do something to combat
the horrible weather and the lack of a sun past five p.m.
If there is anything to the season that is truly dreadful, it is
when these thoughts, said in jest, take on a life of their own.
Whatever holiday you celebrate and however you celebrate it,
remember that this is supposed to be a time of joy. There’s
nothing more frustrating to me, for all of the downsides of a
holiday, than trying to rip that joy away from others.
After all, it is the most wonderful time of the year (so they
say).
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