I get a bit depressed due to the sun (SAD, I think it's appropriately called) and since Christmas, New Years, and Easter border the darkest season (light wise) I tend to be a bit down when they come around. I personally really enjoy getting gifts for loved ones and it helps to cheer me up, but I totally see why others would find it upsetting. less

lots of mixed emotions during xmas. This year it does not seem like xmas or the holidays at all. I feel like it should still be a month or two away. But not being able to be with the majority of the family I love really sucks. I live in Wisconsin, they live in North Dakota and Kentucky right now Not a lot of money this year to travel less

Sometimes I get sad about the giftyness of it all. It's easy to forget how material things don't actually make you happy and what not. And then it's like, oh wait, exactly what are we doing this for again? Why can't we just cook and visit?

This year is getting a lot sadder for me, though. I just found out that I am going to be unable to sleep with the rest of my family in the main house for some reason or another and will have to sleep all by myself in my own apartment this christmas eve and just drive over to meet the family in the morning. I think I'd rather sleep on the sofa in their living room, but w/e. )= less

Yes, I definitely understand how the season can bring forth melancholic feelings.

I personally no longer celebrate Christmas either, in the sense of gathering for gift exchanges with friends and family. My husband works retail, and we have not traveled to be with family for Thanksgiving or Christmas over the past seven years since he works both the day before and the day after these holidays. However, not traveling to see family for Christmas is fine by me. Even though I do love my parents, getting together with family at Christmas always ended with me being depressed--but that is due to the dynamics in my family and my in-law's family. I was adopted right before I started elementary school, and I've always felt like I'm on the outside looking in and don't really belong--at least not equally, despite being assured otherwise. As far as my in-laws, they have always counted drops of blood, so to speak, in determining just "how" related family members are to them, so it was clear that I was not "really" family to them at all and never really would be, no matter what. It is painful for me to observe the relationships of those around me during Christmas-time gatherings and to feel like I'm just an observer and not a partaker. There have also been some rifts in my family and in my husband's family in the past decade that have left me feeling even more alienated.

My husband and I just go out to eat on Christmas Eve and have a quiet day together on Christmas Day. We don't even do presents for each other anymore, but that is mainly because we haven't been able to afford them in recent years. We also sold our Christmas tree and gave away our lighted garlands to The Salvation Army when we moved into our smaller apartment this past summer, so we don't have Christmas decorations either.

I used to be a Christian but am now an unwilling agnostic (I say "unwilling" because my faith slipped away despite the fact that I tried desperately to cling to it).

Anyway, despite all this, I do love Christmas because the season signifies to me a hope for a better tomorrow. Hope for a better tomorrow is what motivates and drives all of humankind, no matter what their philosophy or religion may be.

Christmas is also a time for remembrances--even of darker times. These remembrances of both darker times and happier times helps us realize that life is an ongoing cycle of ups and downs. And we should never lose sight of our mountaintop experiences when we are in the valley. There is always hope of climbing back up for at least one more thrilling view of this amazing, yet fragile thing we call life.

Encouraging others who are falling into melancholy helps us keep our chins up and reminds us that there will always be hope for happier times! Since this is a time of year when so many are drifting into melancholic nostalgia, that is all the more reason to reach out to others who are going through a rough patch to give them a warm nudge of encouragement. It's hard to remain depressed when you are focused on trying to elicit a smile from and a spark of hope in a fellow human being who is also down. Just remember that we are all in this thing called life together, that we share the same vulnerabilities, that we share many more similarities than we do differences, and that we are both better and stronger by reaching out to others anytime we are feeling down. less

I miss far away, or deceased family and friends. I miss having snow. I miss the overall joy that does not seem as pervasive around the community as it once was. Years ago, the month of December was all about folks bringing goodies to work and a lot of cheer. Now...one free meal in the cafeteria and a plastic tiny tree in our lobby. Just NOT the same...yes, a bit sad. less

was just listening to the charlie brown christmas album... why are some christmas songs so sad? they make me feel a sense of really depressing nostalgia... i'm reminded of childhood lost, the poor living winters in the cold, and soldiers away from their families at the most family-oriented time of the year.


does anyone else get sad sometimes during the holidays?

thanks for voting. less

I've fortunately never encountered any sadness around the holidays. I've run the gamut of other negative emotions, though - anger, frustration, hopelessness, etc. Usually associated with work (having worked retail and food service around the holidays ... yeah), sometimes with my social anxiety around crowds, a few times with finances. And dealing with my mother ... she could easily slip into a depression during the holidays because of her own childhood (extremely poor, and her mother trying to commit suicide every damn holiday) so she goes overboard with decorating and such, which can be irritating. (Ever had your walls papered with cards from Christmases past?) At least she really did teach us to be thankful for what we have and to serve others.

It's the New Year that leaves me ambivalent. less

I always get depressed around the holidays. I used to love Christmas, but now it's just a day of stress and drama and anger. There hasn't been a Christmas celebration in my family in 15 years that hasn't ended up with someone in tears. I always have this image in my head of a joyful day with everyone setting aside everything for just the 16 hours we're awake, but it usually ends up with my stepmother throwing a tantrum at me, or my sister, or my brother, or her daughter or her son. Most often me, because I'm the only one dumb enough to still go home for the holidays, because I love my father. And now I have memories of Christmas with my ex, and remembering all the years that I spent days and dollars I didn't really have to get him the perfect gift, and he gave me old computer parts he no longer needed.

I threw a Christmas party for my created family (closest friends who could make the trip, and my brother, who is the only sibling that lives close by) last week. I nearly ended up in tears again because it was just what I had always wanted - I cooked a feast and was thanked for it and complimented on it. Someone else washed most of the dishes so I didn't have to. Everyone loved their presents and thanked me. Everyone enjoyed being around each other, and goodbyes were said with big smiles and hugs and between friends who hadn't met before, new friendships. No one screamed, no one cried, no one threw things, no one bitched about dinner being slightly later than the original expected time, or what I chose to serve, or that I had neglected to serve something that they wanted, and everyone said thank you for all the effort I put into making it a memorable holiday party. It was perfect. less

good for you! so glad you found a way out of the sadness.


to you celebrate 'giftsmas' as they call it? the swapping of gifts during the season? or not celebrate the winter holiday at all? just curious as to how different folks celebrate/don't celebrate. less

was just listening to the charlie brown christmas album... why are some christmas songs so sad? they make me feel a sense of really depressing nostalgia... i'm reminded of childhood lost, the poor living winters in the cold, and soldiers away from their families at the most family-oriented time of the year.


does anyone else get sad sometimes during the holidays?

thanks for voting. less