Headlines

As aired on WNPR, December 8, 2009.

Holiday Blues

It's Supposed to be "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," but Many Find the Holidays Unbearable

By Colin McEnroe

A long time ago we started a regular feature called I'm supposed to love it but I hate it. When we asked for ideas, we heard a lot about parades and clowns and Tom Hanks and ...well, the ideas were all over the place.

But then the e-mails started to focus on one general area. New Year's Eve. And then ... the holidays that precede New Year's Eve.

The family gatherings. The music. The office Christmas parties. The non-Office Christmas parties. The shopping.

I guess it's no great revelation that people find the holidays pretty hard to take. But why exactly is that? Part of the answer is contained in the title of our feature. You're supposed to love the holidays. You're almost obligated. And then you have to gather with certain people. As opposed to having a CHOICE about it.

Is that it? Is it the overall lack of personal freedom we feel in the face of the holidays?