Holidays

[Tommie ΘΔ]

Hello all! Back again to ask some questions Are there any interesting/cultural Holidays you guys celebrate? Or better yet, whats your favourite holiday(s) and how do you celebrate?

Thought of this question because my favourite holiday, Dia de Reyes, was yesterday and I got my friends some gifts for it!! The typical way its celebrated is to leave shoes out and the 3 kings will leave candy in them overnight, but my family does it so you get 3 small gifts (one from each of the kings) on the 6th!!

So yea, happy holidays to all and I'd love to read what you guys have going on this holiday season (or any season, really)

[Rosaria Delacroix]

My favourite holiday is New Years, actually- which has just recently passed. I'm terrified of fireworks, don't drink alcohol (its for medical reasons, alcohol's inhibition of coagulation through interference with platelet functioning is extremely dangerous for me as a hemophiliac; I already only have roughly 39% of a typical person's coagulation capacity, and from previous experience with similarly blood thinning agents, the consequences are excruciating and extensive), and I don't mesh well with parties because the noise and crowds and lights are sensory hell. (My lovely little noise cancelling earbuds were purchased for university because otherwise sitting in the lecture theatres literally felt like someone was scraping my ear canals with scissors and I'd double over / crunch into a little ball with my hands over my ears and be in physical pain from hearing people yap away in the 5 minutes before and after classes. Suppose that's autism for you.) So like, New Years sounds like it'd be torture for me, right?

In many ways, it is. But the reason its my favourite holiday, is because of the resolutions people make. A lot of cynical people around me dismiss it as something stupid, because 'why the hell do you need to wait for a certain time of year to do something, just do it, most people delude themselves and don't even accomplish their goals anyways' which is a pretty mean and pessimistic perspective.

For me, it's not even really so much about whether or not people accomplish their goals- I know that I certainly don't scratch all of them off of my list! They're more aspirational for me, a good way for me to reframe my focus areas- having a resolution means that I'll be thinking of it more throughout the year than I otherwise would, and it's flagging to myself that this is something important that I care about, and that I should contemplate more often to better align myself towards doing something that slots in with my values: such as wanting to prioritize building a trusting relationship with my self (in terms of keeping my personal word sworn to myself, not just being a star in that regard with other people.) And I certainly don't hold people to the fire on their own resolutions and whether or not they manage to tick them off their list- look, life happens, and we just adjust as we go along. There's no shame in that.

No, the real reason I love New Years and people making resolutions, is how hopeful people get about them. How sparkly with joy they are, daydreaming about what they want to hold near and dear in the year up ahead. How they allow themselves to desire, to want- and the very sweet enthusiasm they often hold in blazing ahead and setting out to strike at their goals. Maybe they won't achieve them, I don't know that- no one knows the future. Maybe they will. But the vivacious joy that flutters about this time of year, the happiness in seeing people focus on themselves and their own wishes- it's all really magical to me.

When was the last time a fellow adult you knew played, indulged in fantasy, specifically sought out joy and fun and whimsical delight? I try to cultivate this actively through fun play-pretend sessions with my friends, as play-by-post tabletop roleplay games are perfect for sustaining this 'childish' sense of play. Play's important. Play's crucial.

It's critical for any creative, because play lets us explore in much the same way we do when we're noodling around with our respective tools of the craft and letting the muse speak, and inspiration hit- cultivating play keeps us open, imaginative, and curiously inquisitive of 'what if?' Those are all really conducive to making art, whatever form that takes.

But play is also vital for my emotional health. It brings me joy, allows me the freedom to get silly with it- in a way countering how adult life demands stoicism, a capacity to endure suffering with a tightly buttoned lip, and a grim sort of 'do or die' determination. Play is a soft space with friends to revel in pleasure and amusement, to focus on what you want to do, not have to do- play is a relief in a bleak week, play is a reminder that life is not always so goddamn fucking horrible, and it's a joy to see your loved ones bloom with happiness at realizing hey, playing is a lot of fun, actually!

So the same happiness and sparkly delight I get from playing with my friends, is the same kind of secondhand pleasure I get around people making New Years resolutions. Something about seeing that sort of hope, that sort of fragile trust in the future and happiness- that's really nourishing to my spirit, and it makes me really happy: all warm and glow-y content, like drinking a hot chocolate and feeling the heat of it bloom in your chest, or when you see something super cute a kitty's done and grin so big it makes your face hurt with the same warmth. So I love New Years for the people, even if I hate the parties and the drinking and the crowds. It's because New Years lets me fall a little in love with the people around me- you can't help but want the best for people who are so adorably hopeful for their future.

[Tommie ΘΔ]

My favourite holiday is New Years, actually- which has just recently passed. I'm terrified of fireworks, don't drink alcohol (its for medical reasons, alcohol's inhibition of coagulation through interference with platelet functioning is extremely dangerous for me as a hemophiliac; I already only have roughly 39% of a typical person's coagulation capacity, and from previous experience with similarly blood thinning agents, the consequences are excruciating and extensive), and I don't mesh well with parties because the noise and crowds and lights are sensory hell. (My lovely little noise cancelling earbuds were purchased for university because otherwise sitting in the lecture theatres literally felt like someone was scraping my ear canals with scissors and I'd double over / crunch into a little ball with my hands over my ears and be in physical pain from hearing people yap away in the 5 minutes before and after classes. Suppose that's autism for you.) So like, New Years sounds like it'd be torture for me, right?

I love New Years too!! Its my second favourite holiday ahah, its nice to see someone else enjoys it as much, if not more, than i do!!

Totally get the thing about fireworks btw, i dislike them for my own reasons. You'd think the fireworks would be a dealbreaker, but theres something so awe-inspiring about a new year :3

[wolfkitty42]

I love Purim and Halloween! Both of them include costumes, hehehehe.....  As a kid, my parents insisted on making our Halloween costume instead of buying them.(shoutout 2 the felt toothbrush costume they made for my brother) That may or may not have influenced my life-long (my life isn't that long yet) love of costuming and cosplay. I have really nice memories of crunching 2 finish costumes in time 4 Purim...
Other than the costumes though, I don't really like hamentashen... And growing older, groggers are way less fun! Haha, when you're little making noise is such a blast. Now that I'm older (and not holding a grogger) it's just overwhelming... :( I'm still a huge fan of Halloween, though! Plus, I've found plenty (read: 2) other opportunities 2 cosplay and dress up year round! And if I wanna do more? Well, I HAVE to practice my makeup skills! They aren't gonna improve themselves, are they? x3

[wolfkitty42]

In many ways, it is. But the reason its my favourite holiday, is because of the resolutions people make. A lot of cynical people around me dismiss it as something stupid, because 'why the hell do you need to wait for a certain time of year to do something, just do it, most people delude themselves and don't even accomplish their goals anyways' which is a pretty mean and pessimistic perspective.

See, I don't think I fully understand this part of New Years. I wouldn't consider myself 2 be particularly cynical, but I still don't think it makes much sense to set goals on New Years... Or, at least, when New Years currently is. I feel like I would understand it a little more if we celebrated the new year during spring, like a fresh start, or fall for goals after the winter.* I mean, it still doesn't make sense to me (why set goals at an arbitrary time instead of when they randomly come into your life?) but I think I would understand it a bit better if New Years was at the start of the spring season.



*Fall might just make sense 2 me because I am Jewish and celebrate a new year then 2, haha.

[Nova]

I think for me, Halloween is my favourite holiday. There's just something about dressing up as something spooky and the whole... spooky autumn vibe in general that I love. It's literally one day where you can cosplay but there's a charm to it all.

On a more obscure note, me, my mom and my older sister have been obverving Yule more often than Christmas, mostly around the time of the Winter Solstice. We don't... have any fireplaces (our old fireplace got permanently converted into an electric one, RIP...), so we've gone to playing Yule log videos off our TVs lmao

If we can, we're gonna try and get one of those outdoor fire pits, maybe then me and mom can burn a Yule log every year again.