10 reasons people hate the holidays
Psychologist Zelda Buitendag explains why some people might not favour the holidays as much as others.
POLOKWANE – As we celebrate the holiday season, some of us are exited and others have a nervous feeling in their gut. Contrary to what most people believe, not everyone enjoys the holidays.
Review spoke to psychologist Zelda Buitendag to find out why some people hate the holidays.
“There are different reasons for people to dislike holidays,” she confirms and according to her, these reasons include:
1. A family tragedy or traumatic events.
“For some people, holidays share the anniversaries of personal traumatic events that might trigger painful memories of the past. Others may find it hard to be alone after they lost or got separated from a loved one.”
2. Obligatory social gatherings.
“Every never-ending gathering and get-together is a nightmare for some people, especially the introverts.”
3. Family visits.
“Despite the family being the closest to one’s heart, the prolonged conversation can get exhausting and boring for some people. Getting asked endless numbers of questions about life, studies and plans by family members, especially the older relatives are infuriating for some people.”
4. Having house guests.
“To entertain and host guests during the holiday season are perceived as an extra burden for some. Having different house guests in a row and serving them are challenging as well as a tiring task when people prefer to relax during the holidays.”
5. Purchasing gifts.
“Purchasing gifts for family, friends and co-workers when you are on a tight budget is the most difficult task to do during the holiday season.”
6. High expectations.
“The high expectations set by others during a holiday to get a gift makes the holiday season challenging as you want to meet these expectations.”
7. Holiday behaviour drives consumer culture.
“Some believe everything about the holiday spirit gets manipulated to move people towards or propagating the consumerist culture. The Black Friday or Christmas sales, which causes buyers to line up and buy everything on their wish list drives us towards this culture.”
8. Pressure to spend.
“The holiday is made up as a season to spend money lavishly on clothes, food, dining out, clubbing and so on. We tend to spend money on gifts for co-workers and friends to try and impress them with the goodies. These are all things that drive us towards materialism and we forget the real celebration that gifts represents.”
9. Tinsel and decorations.
“The lighting and the decorations of the streets, homes and neighbourhoods solely for ‘holiday vibes’ are not preferred or favoured by everyone.”
10. Fighting and people showing their worst selves.
“It is often around the holiday season that people get into fights and display all their worst behaviour. Customers frequently yell on the employee over out-of-stock items. There is the exploitation of customers as well during the sale season of holidays.”
