I hate holidays

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There is a lot of holidays that, in my culture, should be meeting time for extended families.
Currently there was The Day of the Dead or whatever it should end up translated.
On one hand, it's kind of great to see old traditions alive and strong - try to get out of a big city before such a day, lol We have our special tricks of driving small roads just for such occasions.
On the other hand, after every single holiday of that kind I need to recharge for weeks if not months.
Yup, under the bar again, despite leaving early.

While I don't actually hate holidays, I just don't see them in the same way as when I was a child.

New Year's: Stay up late. Make noise at midnight. Asleep by 00:30.
Easter: The jelly beans and chocolate bunnies have been replaced by communion wafers and grape juice.
Memorial Day: More like "Bikini Day" here in southern California.
Independence Day: Same as New Year's, except for being asleep 2 or 3 hours sooner.
Hallowe'en: Turn off the porch light, turn on the lawn sprinklers, watch TV in the back of the house.
Veterans' Day: End of the bikini season in southern California.
Thanksgiving: A four-day weekend with lots of leftovers.
Christmas: Another four-day weekend, but with gifts that you pretended to like when you unwrapped them.

... step and repeat...

It's just a lot of people who ask me a lot of questions that I don't want to talk about...
People shouting at full tables, arguing about politics...
Heavy, greasy food you can't escape - and people getting offended when you refuse...
Irregular sleep because of travel...
Noise, crowd...

I used to do okay with all these before my burnout but now I can't, I get a small, few-weeks-lasting burnout after each such event.

The only holiday that works for me is Veteran's Day. I either get a big discount everywhere I go that day, or I get my meals for free. And complete strangers walk up to me and thank me for my service (I wear an old American Legion hat with some service ribbons attached to it). It's the one day of the year when I feel 'special' for doing something that almost cost me my life.

I hate holidays too. Mostly because of the family drama. We spend so much time and money into trying to make the family happy for one day but my mom always ends up getting angry and taking it out on everyone around her.

Like this:

I see Seth MacFarlane has met my ex-wife.

I didn't know you were ever married to my mom?

Wait ... YOU were that kid in the attic? How did you escape?

Oh, and sorry about all those fish-heads...

Anyway, back to the topic...

Christmas isn't too bad ... I get a new pair of slippers and a couple of neckties every year, all the food I can eat, and a few days off from work.

But it just isn't the same without parents, grandparents, and all of the other relatives from 50+ years ago. I really miss them.

I hear you magz - I'm ridiculously lucky that my wife thinks the same way and we never spend any of these occasions with extended family (kids are welcome to spend them with us, but that's it )

I know what you mean, the older I get the less time I actually spend with my family and all but three of my grandparents are now dead.

I no longer celebrate any holiday. Modern celebration are nothing more than drunken debauchery, as well as materialistic greed.

The older I get, the more I prefer Puritan way of thought. To me, holidays are just another dreadful day.

I am in agreement that holidays are mostly useless. They just feel like a mass brainwashing targeted at getting people to buy more and more junk. It also angers me (and confuses me) that family couldn't care less about me the majority of the year, yet I am guilt-tripped for not attending/not wanting to attend stressful events during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Bah humbug.

The only holidays that cause me stress are Christmas and the mid summer celebration since those are the only ones my parents are really persistent of me spending with them... or well, technically independence day too since it's just a day after my birthday. It's a national holiday, so that's when people tend to want to visit me... hooray.

It's come to the point when the natural holidays mean as much or more to me than the man-made ones.

Perihelion: 2020-01-05 at 05:20 UJT. Earth's orbit takes it closest to the Sun.

Imbolc ("i-molg"): 2020-02-01 (2020-08-01 in southern hemisphere). Beginning of spring. Making Brigid's crosses and Brídeógs, visiting holy wells, divination, spring cleaning, feasting.

March Equinox: 2020-03-20, at 21:58 UJT. Mid-Spring (mid-autumn in southern hemisphere). Equal times of night and day. Plowing and planting begin. Music, dancing, feasting.

Beltane ("bell-tain"): 2020-05-01. (2020-11-01 in southern hemisphere). Beginning of summer. Lighting bonfires, decorating homes with May flowers, making May bushes, visiting holy wells, feasting.

June Solstice: 2020-06-21 at 15:54 UJT. Mid-Summer (mid-winter in southern hemisphere). Longest day of the year (shortest day in southern hemisphere). Music, dancing, feasting.

Aphelion: 2020-07-04 at 22:11 UJT. Earth's orbit takes it farthest from the Sun.

Lughnasadh ("lu-nehseh"): 2020-08-01 (2020-02-01 in southern hemisphere). Beginning of the harvest season. Offering of First Fruits, handfasting, fairs, athletic contests, feasting

September Equinox: 2020-09-23 at 07:50 UJT. Mid-Autum (mid-spring in southern hemisphere). Equal times of night and day. Harvesting begins. Music, dancing, feasting.

Samhain ("saw-wen"): 2020-10-31 (2020-05-01 in southern hemisphere). End of the harvest season, beginning of winter. Bonfires, guising/mumming, divination, feasting.

December Solstice: 2020-12-21 at 10:02 UJT. Mid-Winter (mid-summer in southern hemisphere). Shortest day of the year (longest day in southern hemisphere). Music, dancing, feasting.

I like the fact that at this time of year there a a lot more toys and other interesting things in all the stores. I wish they'd do that all year round.

But I sure am glad we celebrate Thanksgiving in the middle of October instead of the near the end of November. The Americans sitting around being being thankful for what they already have, only to go out the very next day where they behave like packs of starving dogs just to get something they *don't* have.