The walls of my dorm room are bare except for a single wall hanging — a small plastic jack-o’-lantern attached perpendicularly to a foam pole, from which fringed black tissue paper and orange mesh netting hang loosely.
Clearly, it is a Halloween decoration, but I don’t personally associate it with the holiday. For me, it isn’t a seasonal piece. It has been there since the day I moved in and will stay there until I move out next semester.
That being said, I know I cannot deny my Dollar Tree merchandise blatantly evokes Halloween, especially since every time I have friends over they casually comment on it. Because this $1 pumpkin entity is the only decoration on my wall, it’s hard to miss.
“Ready for spooky season?” they’ll say, a gleeful glint in their eyes. “Big Halloween fan?”
Unfazed, I always reply, “I don’t celebrate Halloween. I just like pumpkins.”
About two years ago, I decided to stop participating in holidays because they were stressing me out. And — at the risk of sounding dramatic — I must say renouncing holidays taught me a valuable lesson about life.
Particularly regarding Thanksgiving and Christmas, the pressures of tradition and capitalism got to me, and I realized that not only do holidays no longer bring me enjoyment, but they filled me with a mild sense of dread.
It felt like I was doing something solely because it was expected of me and not because I genuinely wanted to engage in it.
Technically, there are a lot of existing holidays – national, international, religious and unofficial. But in consideration of my word count, I’ll merely share my logic for not celebrating some of the major U.S. holidays.
When it comes to Halloween, I don’t care for costume parties or haunted houses or adorning my living space with scary decor. Growing up, my siblings and I didn’t go trick-or-treating, so I don’t have an attachment to Halloween candy.
As for Thanksgiving, I can practice mindful gratitude throughout the year. My life is fulfilled without U.S. football games, Macy’s’ annual parade and roasting a large bird for four hours.
In terms of Christmas, I do not have religious or secular ties. My parents never conjured up Santa for us, but we’ve always set up Christmas trees and exchanged presents. I decided that I wouldn’t give or receive gifts because I don’t like the pressure and financial anxiety that have afflicted me during past periods of holiday shopping.
New Year’s Day is not my thing because I don’t care for resolutions or for acknowledging the concept of time.
The Fourth of July actually makes me feel sad nowadays because the founding principles and implications upon which this nation declared independence make me uncomfortable. In other words — in this country, I don’t think it is self-evident that all people were created equal.
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are cool, but if I ever become a mother, I doubt I will be interested in hyping up a particular day to celebrate my motherhood since it can be recognized throughout the year.
I don’t have anything to say about Valentine’s Day.
People often misconstrue my relinquishment of holidays as a sense of hatred or protest, which is understandable. But I want to clarify my stance — I respect holidays. I simply choose to generally avoid partaking in their celebration.
There’s a difference between renouncement and denouncement. No part of me believes that anyone should adopt my attitude toward holidays. Additionally, just because I don’t vibe with holidays right now doesn’t mean my opinion won’t change in the near future. Being self-contradictory is human nature.
I also recognize there are many different ways to view and celebrate holidays. For some, they are merely a break from work and school which can be spent in relaxation or with loved ones.
There are a lot of aspects of life which are treated as defaults when in reality, they are simply additions.
If an activity you engage in is unnecessarily stressing you out or otherwise making you feel miserable, you have the right to identify against it, regardless of whether other people resonate with your reasons.
Though easier said than done, it is unfair to you to appease authority figures, peers or family members by sticking with that instrument, sport, club or lifestyle that you know isn’t working for you.
I am definitely not a fully-independent adult, but there are still a lot of decisions I have the prerogative to make when it comes to customizing my life, habits and values.
Ultimately, as long as I’m not harming anyone, I owe it to myself to reduce as much unnecessary stress in my life as possible.
