RSSWhy We Celebrate
Dec 29
Society and Culture Chanukah, Christmas, holidays, Kwanzaa, Yule Comments Off
For most of us, the month of December is a non-stop, dizzying ride of celebrations and associated travel, gift-giving, greeting card-sending, and all the like. Rarely do we stop and take a moment to think about what we are celebrating, though. Instead, we rush from one to the next and eventually hope that we’ll come up with some excuse to skip the next celebration just so that we have a few minutes to sit down and wrap the gifts. This year, I decided to sit down and meditate a bit on just why we do celebrate this time of year.
Most of the celebrations in December revolve around some religious holiday, whether we’re talking Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Yule, or whatever other celebration of light you honor. But you know what? These holidays provide us with an excuse for celebrating, not a reason. I know very few people who give the spiritual aspects of these holidays more than cursory notice. For example, if you’re Christian, how much time did you spend in the last week contemplating the fact that Jesus was basically a pretty awesome guy who wanted people to be good to each other? I think you probably spent more time figuring out where you could get that last gift that eluded your shopping efforts.
That leaves us with the celebrations themselves, the excuses to be social. As much as the all the parties and lunches and Yankee swaps may drive us to distraction, they fulfill a very basic need in all of us: the craving for social contact. Built around the excuse of “the holidays,” we’re suddenly willing to accept a hectic social schedule that any other time of the year would be laughable. The reason for this is because we know we have to be with other people this time of year. In fact, we recognize this as an expectation, but rarely remember that the expectation built from an original desire.
But why now, why December? Well, let’s see. It’s damn dark outside. Even our pre-electrical ancestors must have wanted an excuse to light an extra candle or two now and then. The crops were all gathered in and some of them were probably pondering going bad, meaning it’s an ideal time for that big party that eats it up before we had to throw it out. Something like that becomes tradition because we enjoy it.
It’s too bad that we’ve forgotten how much we once enjoyed those gatherings. Instead, we tend to focus on the headaches of planning them, or travelling to them, or “I can’t believe I have to see that jerk, even if it’s only once a year.” We take for granted all the people with whom we value contact, even if it’s only now and then. We take for granted all the effort we and others expend into creating elaborate meals and finding just the right gift.
My Christmas was a little different this year. I went to series of very small gatherings that allowed me to just focus on the people. On Christmas Day, I had a quiet day with my mother, stepfather, and grandmother. We shared a dinner that was simple and delicious. We opened a box of gifts shipped from my sister, which consisted mostly of a homemade photo album for each of us, along with a group gift intended to remind us of my grandfather. This is what made me stop and reflect.
The holidays really are a time to celebrate. They give us the opportunity to celebrate each other. The why is all about being together and the why now is more like why not now. As goofy as it sounds, being together is something we all need and something we all need to be reminded of, whether we like it or not. No matter how much we may complain, we know deep down that there is a purpose: to appreciate those around us and know that we are not alone.
