The Meaning of Holidays

Paper Summary:

This paper presents a reflective essay on the author's view of the meaning of holidays. It provides examples of past holidays that the author has experienced and how the meaning of holidays has changed as he has grown older. The author suggests that people need to stop looking at the media to tell them what a 'perfect' holiday should resemble, and instead try to make the holiday meaningful and personal without so much anxiety.

From the Paper:

"Every year, the holidays seem to grow a bit more hysterical in the buying and decorating encouraged by the media and in the build-up before the actual day. The day itself, after so much anticipation, almost invariably falls short. Also, perhaps because Americans are moving farther and farther away from their families, and losing a sense of family tradition, they seem more intent on looking at the media and culture to tell them how they should feel and celebrate a particular day. The result is neurotic perfectionism. One of the most enjoyable holiday experiences I had was celebrating the New Year with a Russian Orthodox friend of mine. The New Year is more important in the Russian Orthodox calendar and is a kind of combination of Christmas and New Years. Because everything was so different, from the foods, to the songs, to the tradition, I had no expectations of what was going to happen next. Because this way of celebrating a winter holiday was not of my culture, or much talked-about in the media, there was no pressure upon everyone to 'perform' and to be 'perfect.' However, I still felt moved, and reflective, because of the emotions of the people around me, and the weighty sense of the passage of yet another year, traditionally observed in 'the old way.' I think this was a good lesson, and from now on it is the attitude I will use, when approaching any celebration, great or small."

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