You hear Mariah Carey’s hit classic, All I Want for Christmas is You, on the radio. You’re in the car with your friends who absolutely love this song. It’s a Christmas tradition with them to get them officially in the holiday spirit. You instantly are annoyed because you don’t like it, and you go through the same thing every year. But here’s the thing: there’s nothing wrong with allowing people to have holiday traditions that you don’t like.
I recently had lunch with a friend before the holiday season officially started. The restaurant we were eating at was playing Christmas music. My friend was annoyed and said it was too early for this. A lot of people feel this way, and I get it. But at the same time, what’s wrong with someone listening to Christmas music earlier than you expect? Maybe that’s a tradition for some families, and maybe they’re not with their family this year, and so hearing Christmas music early or any other Christmas tradition that you may find annoying or cheesy (like an ugly Christmas sweater party or a cookie swap, etc.) they usually do with their family. Whatever the holiday tradition is, it may be best to let them enjoy it.
While you might find specific holiday traditions annoying,it gives them a piece of home when they don’t have it. What’s wrong with that? I’ll tell you: absolutely nothing. If it brings them happiness, leave them alone. Just because they find joy in it and you don’t, doesn’t mean you should be a grinch about it, because it’s not hurting you or anyone else. I think it applies to many other holiday things like decorating early or even getting some eggnog just because there are a lot more important things to be upset about in today’s society than how others choose to celebrate the holidays. If people want to get ahead on Christmas shopping in June or July because there are great deals on gifts during that time, that’s not a problem, because you’re getting ahead of the holiday rush. But Christmas lights on your house the day after Thanksgiving is considered unacceptable. What sense does that make? It doesn’t.
We make such big deals out of such small things, even when those things bring people happiness. But I think there is nothing wrong with letting people like what they like when they like it. I find that we judge people too much for liking certain things when it’s so unhelpful and unnecessary. Why make someone feel bad for liking something you don’t? When you do that you take away someone’s joy and happiness at a time they may have needed it the most.
We all seem to forget that we all only live this life once, and we all enjoy things that others may not love or even like. The same goes for pineapple and pizza. I find it disgusting, but it works for some people. Same goes for everything else in life. Do you know the saying “dance like no one’s watching”? I say live your life like no one’s watching and like no one cares what you do with it. I think if we all realized the power of that philosophy, people would live their lives the way they choose and be more authentically themselves. So go ahead and celebrate the holidays how you choose. You may celebrate with the traditions that matter to you most, whether that be with your family, your chosen family or by yourself. However you choose to celebrate this holiday season, if it brings you joy, do it.
Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash
