Liya Abil- Week 11- The Power That Holidays Holds
Today is Valentine’s Day, the day of love, romance and affection. It was absolutely unbearable. Every corner I turned, I saw couples being “coupley.” With every story I opened on Instagram, I saw people posting their significant others.
On Valentine’s Day, everyone seems to act differently. Couples are more romantic and buy each other flowers or chocolates to show their love. Single people end up mostly depressed and almost gag seeing couples.
This observation made me realize the power that a singular day that we have made up as a society has had on our actions. If Valentine’s Day did not exist, when would guys buy flowers for their girlfriends? If Christmas didn’t exist, when would people exchange presents? If Thanksgiving didn’t exist, when would families get together and feast?
Although I do not think that people should be constrained by holidays to do these things, there is something special in knowing that there are specific days attributed to celebrating love, family, and affection.
For Valentine’s Day, my friend and I gave each other rose grams and wrote notes for each other. Her note was about how much she valued our friendship and my note to her was similar. There is so much power in the title of “Valentine’s Day” because the unfortunate reality it that we would never say this to each other any other day. However, today allows for this extra show of affection without anything being considered “cheesy.”
If you think about it, there are so many interesting traditions on holidays, like leaving out cookies for “Santa” on Christmas or creating Leprechaun traps on St. Patrick’s Day. The power that a holiday holds allows for its own set of traditions and weird quirks that everyone follows, creating a unifying sense among the people that celebrate it.
Hey Liya,
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about how we designate certain days to express our love for certain people. In addition to Thanksgiving and Valentines Day we also have Mothers Day, Fathers Day, etc. It's like we save all our affection and appreciation for those days and no other day in the year has the same privilege. It's so normal for us, but if you think about it, it's actually pretty ridiculous. It's almost not socially acceptable or it's "cheesy" like you said to express our love for the people around us on any other day. Your blog also made me think about how we universally or at least as a country have traditions. Everyone has traditions with their families and friends, but it's comforting to have traditions that you share with an entire country like putting cookies out for Santa and creating Leprechaun traps.
Hi Liya. I agree that holidays hold a great deal of importance when defining social norms, such as buying flowers for your partner or exchanging gifts. Even though I don’t celebrate some of those holidays, it’s still fun to take part in the culture of giving gifts to loved ones or hunting for Easter eggs in hopes of getting some chocolate. I also think that unique holiday traditions are what make these holidays enjoyable. Holidays all feel incomplete without them, and I can’t imagine celebrating any of them without those traditions. Additionally, I agree with your statement that holidays are unifying because some holiday traditions, such as Christmas gift-giving, are followed by many different groups of people who might not necessarily be Christian. Regardless, it’s enjoyable to take part in such traditions simply for the fun of them. I really appreciated your article, as it made me wonder why holiday traditions are central to our society.
ReplyDeleteHello Liya! Your claim to share affection outside of holidays is formulated creatively; I have often considered this facet of sharing affection as a fundamental flaw in our society’s formation. I believe in showing consistent compassion towards one another and surpassing the limitations of dedicating only one day to showing love to a significant person in our lives. Exploring this friendly attitude in our lives, gratitude is a theme that we must reflect upon. The interesting usage of these themes throughout the blog differentiates such writing.
ReplyDeleteYou use rhetorical questions to attribute family love to some specific holidays, which marginalizes the regular impact that family members have on one another on a social level. The image you include in the blog introduces the theme of Valentine’s Day, memorializing this concept among the public. I am glad that you brought up high school relationships and how some of these relationships can cause disgust. You move past the superficial connection developed by such relationships to a process analysis of the effects of more thorough relations. The exemplification you develop in this blog encompasses your experience, making it relatable and amicable.
Hi Liya, I completely agree on how everyone starts to act different just because of a holiday. During holidays, as you said everyone posts. It can either be their significant other, their family, decorations or food. Also during the holidays, malls, roads are always filled since people are either traveling to visit family or to buy presents. A holiday holds enough power to completely change how person acts. Without any of these holidays, I don't think anyone would get showered with gifts. Personally I love receiving gifts and giving gifts to others. The smile on peoples faces when they open gifts or even get a gift brings a smile on my face. I love holidays with my whole heart and I can't imagine what I would do without them. Especially Chinese New Year, I can't imagine a year where my family doesn't meet up to eat a huge meal. I can't imagine a day without, lion dances, kung fu performances, wearing red, receiving red envelopes and more.
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