By Ruby Churchill
Times are changing—so should our holiday traditions.
Is Valentine’s Day creeping up on you like a slow-moving freight train of doom? Do holidays feel less like a time for celebration and more like an endless to-do list disguised in festive wrapping paper?
You’re not the only one starting to wonder if there’s something wrong with the holiday spirit business. Whether it's Christmas, Valentine's Day, or Groundhog Day, it’s time we asked ourselves if these celebrations need a little sprucing up.
The way holidays are celebrated is not carved in stone. Over the years, they've evolved—shifting from deep-rooted traditions to commercialized events. They seem more like a gift-giving, money-spending extravaganza than a time to be generous and thankful.
Holiday retail sales in the United States are expected to reach about $979.5 billion according to Statista. Further, Americans generate more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s than any other period, as stated by Waste Cost Solutions. Wrapping paper, unused gifts, and food waste pile up over the course of the year.
As a result, the holidays as we know them today are a bloated, overstuffed affair, filled with rituals that no one really remembers the reason behind. According to one student, celebrations are less about gifts and more about togetherness.
“What matters is that it’s a time where we can unite, whether it’s under family or under religion or under culture, or just for ice skating,” Bertie Wolske said.
The holidays are also about gratitude for the weird, wonderful, dysfunctional people you call family. They are about pausing for a second in this chaotic world to realize we’re here, we’re alive, and we enjoy each other’s company.
According to Emily Bianchini, it’s important to focus on generosity during the holidays.
“I like to think a lot about the original Christmas story of Saint Nicholas and why we celebrate the way we do in giving gifts, and remember that the gifts that he gave were to the poor and for children, and so I’m thinking how I might want to start incorporating in the way I celebrate Christmas. I’ve always celebrated Christmas with family though there have been a few times we’ve done something like buy a present for a kid in need,” Bianchini said.
Valentine’s Day is a perfect example of a time that often gets lost in the commercialization of gifts and cards. While it’s a day meant to celebrate love and connection, it has become synonymous with overpriced chocolates and flowers. Instead of keeping every outdated tradition alive, it’s time to start dropping some of the rituals that no longer serve us. Here are some ways you can swap tradition for meaning.
Give homemade gifts. No need to break your bank or back in gift-giving. Simple gifts such as a jar of cookie ingredients, a mug you painted, or even a silly poem are meaningful and hopefully less stressful for you.
Bianchini is a pro at heartfelt presents.
“I tend to make things a lot of the time. I’ve made bags when I took weaving classes over the summer. I’m somewhat notorious in my family for starting some craft in the middle of July and then hiding it until December,” Bianchini said.
Passing on family heirlooms instead of traditional trendy gifts is another idea.
“I think about passing on heritage or legacy. Passing on things like a family heirloom within the family or perhaps recipes,” Wolske said.
You could also consider exchanging cards, foregoing presents altogether. Consider giving friends and family heartfelt notes. Share a memory, express gratitude, or tell them something you genuinely appreciate about them.
You could also make a holiday tradition a trip. Take the family somewhere fun and unexpected. Who says you have to celebrate a holiday by curling up on a couch all day? Maybe this year, your present to yourself and your family is a journey to a new place.
Unplugging from digital chaos is always a good idea. In the 19th century, they didn’t have Snapchat or TikTok to distract them. When you are with family, be 100% present and there. It’s time to stop living vicariously through Instagram stories and actually live in your life story.
Ultimately, holidays aren’t sacred just because they’ve been around forever. We’ve got the power to make them mean something again. It’s easy to complain about holiday stress, but maybe it’s time we take the reins. Let’s ditch the traditions that are just fillers and start making new ones that speak to where we are today.
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