Christmas: The most wonderful time of the year…or is it?

Anjali Chima

This article will discuss the highs and lows of the joyous holiday period.

Christmas time, we love it! The festive cheer, a charitable time of year, all the eating and drinking, getting to see all our loved ones and not to mention getting to sit by an open fire reading a book (or watching a film if you prefer). It’s that time of year where everybody seems a little happier, a little more festive and there’s that warm “Christmas spirit” in the atmosphere.  

Until the Christmas stress kicks in ...

I know what you’re thinking: how can anybody not love Christmas (or the  winter holidays if you don’t celebrate Christmas). But sometimes we just cannot shake that holiday stress. The fact remains that the holidays are a happy but very stressful time of year for some and by some, I mean adults. Like I am now sigh.

When you’re a kid Christmas is magical, all the fairy lights, Santa, presents, good food, long holidays, no work, no stress. The best time in life. Adults on the other hand have a plethora of stress. Work, organising presents for the whole family, the cost of everything (which might I add is worse now thanks to the cost of living crisis), organising the food, pretending to be happy at an office work party when really you just want to go home. The list could go on and on. Christmas can also be a traumatic time for some with constant triggers surrounding you wherever you go. Even being a uni student during the holidays is tough especially because most university students will either be revising for exams in January or working on coursework during the holiday this causes inner conflict as we want to fully enjoy all the festive activities but we’re also thinking about our uni commitments. It can also be hard for international students who might not be able to go home for the holidays and instead need to stay at university and therefore, miss out on seeing family and friends.

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Also, due to commercialism and possibly Hallmark/Christmas movies, we tend to build up this perfect ideal of Christmas. We have this image of snuggling up next to a fire with hot chocolate, beautifully aesthetic Christmas decorations surrounding you and calmly wrapping presents listening to Christmas songs. However, in reality, it all just seems like a mad dash rush to get everything done on time, never mind getting to sit down. I don’t know about you but every year I think that I’m going to plan ahead, order everything and be relaxed this year. But no, not a chance. I somehow manage to sort my parents presents out early but everybody else’s seems like last minute thing. Apparently, this is called the “planning fallacy” which is, according to this guardian article, “a related phenomenon where we repeatedly underestimate how much time and effort tasks will take despite previous experiences”.  

This time of year, can also be tough on our mental health, with the stresses piling up and a to- do list longer than your arm its hard to cope. Not to mention that with the season and all the romantic associations it can make you feel quite lonely. Other reasons as to why Christmas can be a stressful time can be found here. Help and advice on these worries can be found here.

Even our environment is against us as during Christmas there are shorter days, longer nights and when you wake up in the morning it’s still pitch-black outside. It’s honestly depressing.

But I’m not a Scrooge, I love Christmas time, especially the time I get to spend with my family. So even if Christmas is stressful, we should all try to make time to do something we love this holiday season.