The holiday season is known for many things: good food, the holiday spirit, and families consistently fighting. Whenever students and teachers come back from break, there’s always stories of crazy fights that their families had. Whether it’s over football games or differences of opinions, a holiday can’t seem to go by without a fight.
Even though people claim to be in high spirits and a good mood during the holidays, their actions don’t always reflect that. The holiday gloom can be seen in the constant fights that appear when family is together during the season.
What happened to ‘tising the season to be jolly? Or the notion that the holidays were all about being grateful for what you have? The holiday fights are the complete opposite of both of these values, yet they seem almost unavoidable.
The holidays are not quite as straightforward as they seem. People can’t be happy all the time, and that includes times where they’re expected to be.
Even though the holidays are covered in shining lights, wrapping paper, and tinsel, the stress of them cannot be tucked into a box with a bow on it. The holiday season is considered to be the most stressful time of the year, with a study from Firstbeat showing that in December, people experience an average of 12 hours of stress a day. The high stressors of the season can cause people to be easily irritable, which leads to fights.
“[The fights] are usually just from the stress of getting christmas presents in on time or decorating the tree,” Allegra Francis (‘24) said.
Also, seeing someone that hasn’t been seen in months, or even years, can be intimidating. The first response to feeling uncomfortable is often being mean.It’s easy for fights to break out, especially with people who haven’t been seen in a long time.
One of the largest reasons for the holiday fights, however, is the generational gaps between family members. At family gatherings there are usually kids who are part of generation alpha to grandparents and great grandparents who are part of the silent generation. The generations can’t seem to understand each other, and disagree with everything that the other says.
It’s hard to get along with someone when they are constantly dismissing what you say because of your generation. Hearing the words “back in my day,” or “you wouldn’t get it until you’re older” makes people mad, and feel ignored. That means that fights are going to break out.
While holiday fighting may seem to go against everything the holiday season stands for, and often makes families feel like they’re extra dysfunctional, it’s a normal thing that most people go through. A few minutes after a fight, most people are forgetting what happened in the first place and returning to their seasonal cheer.
