What? It's healthy to hate holidays

My relationship with Christmas is complicated, if I had to give it a title on social media. I like it, but also a lot. Every year I jokingly say that I'm leaving for my best friend in Dubai, to of course neatly slide in with all the family members at the Christmas table. Although it wouldn't surprise me if one day I just send a card saying: we're not here for a while, see you next year.

On Christmas Eve to my mother and then still deep into the night to mass. On Christmas Day a dinner at my mother-in-law's, on Boxing Day a brunch-overlapping-into-lunch at my father-in-law's. Sounds all fairly manageable, until you add up the kilometers. I was always somewhat relieved that my father worked on Christmas, because I just didn't know where to squeeze him in. Christmas was sometimes so full (and I literally was too from all that food) that I had to recover for three days afterwards. Fortunately, we've been doing it differently for a while now. I consciously build breaks into our Christmas schedule or I invite everyone to our home. Of course, you then find yourself cooking with baking powder in your hair just before they arrive, but at least you're in your own house. That always makes a bit of a difference.

So I don't hate Christmas, I drag the decorations out of the storage room half of November and it's even a bit more fun every year, but that rushed feeling from before still clings a bit. Not surprising, research from EenVandaag shows: as many as one in five people experience Christmas primarily as stressful. Maybe that's why I always like to work around Christmas, because that week between Christmas and New Year's always feels a bit like a vacation work-wise. As compensation for my days off, which don't feel so free.

The funny thing is that most people post-corona indicate that they want to celebrate Christmas either with a smaller group or go on vacation. So much for the Christmas-loving people in our country. It seems completely normal to sometimes want something different during the holidays. And it's also normal to hate the holidays. This time of year falls in that typical mole time, where you go outside in the dark and come home in the dark. The winter depression is lurking and it's okay to not feel like celebrating. There, we know that now.

And are you the Christmas-hating Grinch of the group? One piece of advice: never tell that to the people who love Christmas. They feel called to convince you otherwise and that can only become uncomfortable. Don't understand this tale at all? Good for you, just dive into the chaos. Do you always secretly Google a last-minute trip to the sun and never do it? Start saving money for next year.