Holidays are important

I don‘t need to convince you that holidays take often center stage in our lives. In the Western world, we all spend time with friends and family on Christmas or Easter. Thanksgiving is a big deal in the United States. Every country has a national day celebrated with great fanfare.

I imagine that for many of you, these are mostly a motive for longer weekends. Maybe some of you are making grinches of themselves and ignoring these traditions. I think this vision is a great disservice to what I consider an essential part of our communities. Join me and I will explain why you should have a keen interest in holidays, what they can bring you and, maybe, why take a greater part in them.

Who are you?

We first have to acknowledge that every culture we know of has occasions that hold a special place for them. Christmas, Ramadan, Navrati, and Vesak are all still largely celebrated. Even, what we envision as more serious and militaristic societies, such as the Roman or the Mongol empires had plenty of holidays. In truth, any society with even minimal cultural baggage will have at least a few holidays. Why? Well, cultures live on shared meaning. Without some way to express and recognize those beliefs, without some understanding between people, communities would only be groups of recluses… loners eyeing each other. Holidays are rooted in meaning whether it's about an historical event, a spiritual belief or a seasonal change. In a way, celebrating a holiday is the best way to say “This is important to me“. An essential cornerstone in building a cohesive and supportive society in itself.

Don‘t get me wrong: the practices in themselves don‘t really matter. They are bound to change and adapt with time. For example, Lupercalia was a popular purification festival in the Roman Empire where two men would run naked around the city and try to strike women with straps made from a sacrificed goat. Pretty sure this wouldn‘t pass anywhere today. But it held significance to Romans and that is all that matter. What holidays you choose to celebrate define to others your values, your identity or whatever else you hold close to you. As such, choose your holidays wisely. Who knows: you might learn more about yourself.

It‘s all a pretext

Even disregarding how holidays help foster cultures, they still serve a great role in communities regardless. Holidays offer the BEST excuses to bring people together. Full stop. Think about it: when was the last time you had quality time with your family? Probably a holiday. By gathering friends and families, holidays not only allow us to express our values but also offer us opportunities to strengthen the bonds that matter to us. Bonding is why communities survive at all. I wouldn‘t be surprised if holidays came to us by natural selection - history wiping off the map those without solid traditions such as holidays. Assigning particular dates for coming together for a specific reason is a great incentive to make people ACTUALLY work with each other.

What‘s more, such traditions often carry emotional weight. For many of us, they evoke feelings of belonging and nostalgia that further induce us to partake in them. For others, they provide much welcome stability, some constant in an ever-changing and challenging world. We can and should find strength in that.

Take the time

Holidays are another great pretence to take time for ourselves. Taking the time to reconsider our achievements, our goals, and our values is a crucial need also satiated by holidays. We can‘t overlook its mental benefits. Holiday: even the word brings a smile to my face. Taking time off of our ever-busy schedules allows us to recharge our body and mind. Useful time severely lacking to us. As are holidays.

We do have more holidays than you may realize at first. Annual sports events, like the Superbowl, are ingrained in many communities and act as unofficial holidays. But, frankly, we should have more. Some might be concerned about the efficiency cost, but consider that the Romans had on average a holiday every two or three days. I think their empire ran just fine with that. This might be an extreme example, but even medieval peasants in Europe had about 50 or 60 holidays a year. Currently, the United States has 12 public holidays. These moments of pause are not just a luxury, but a vital part of maintaining balance and well-being. Even more so today than ever before in my mind.

Let‘s celebrate

In the end, holidays promote things we should all care about. Our identity, our relationships and our health are all supported by it. Frankly, what they bring to the table should be part of every day in your life. Still, holidays are a great and approachable way to build to that. So, close your working computer, drop whatever tool you use and call your loved ones. Take some time for yourself and enjoy it.

I hope I will see you tomorrow. But, for now, tomorrow can wait.

See you soon.