I don't celebrate holidays. I don't put up decorations or make special food. I don't wear costumes or specially colored or bedazzled clothing. I don't do gift exchanges. I'm not a monster. If invited to a friend's house for a shared meal on a designated holiday, I go, eat, and be appropriately merry. I just don't do anything for holidays on my own.
I don't celebrate birthdays either. I don't buy the dogs special toys or give them special treats. If I want something for myself, I save up money and buy it when I am ready. I don't need to wait for a special day for that.
In vet school, my classmates had an annoying habit of singing "Happy Birthday" whenever they found out it was someone's birthday. For four years, I lied and told them my birthday was January 1. I chose that day because it reliably fell during the holiday break, so there were no classes, thus avoiding the matter entirely.
For most holidays, I waver between anger at the false veneer of religion that is slapped on as if that was sufficient excuse, dismay at the empty commercialism, and just not seeing the point.
Don't get me wrong. I'm happy to have paid holidays from work. I'm like my job but I have plenty of things to keep me occupied when not at work. It would be nice to choose which Monday or Friday I can take off in, say, June, rather than being told, it's this one day. But that's hardly a substantial complaint.
I think that hyping up events that "must" happen on a specific day ends up excluding too many people. In this hyping, the same events are deemed lesser or meaningless if they happen on any other day. People are pressured to participate by peers, family, and corporate overlords. Maybe they can't afford decorations or special food or themed clothing. Maybe they have to work that day. Maybe they aren't Christian. I can't drum up much positive feeling as a result.
Still, I don't make a crusade out of crushing holiday cheer. I just opt out.
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