The Holidays

I bought my first holiday Starbucks drink in early November and this always mean the end of the year and the new year are about to come.  Like all around the world, Americans take the holidays very seriously. Millions of dollars are spent every year on gifts, shopping, decorations, traveling, road trips, etc.  Us Americans cannot help it that we love the holidays and our tendency to overspend has helped the economy and created jobs, even if it leaves a big hole in our wallets.  

The holidays always bring back the good old memories when I was younger.  My family was not rich, we had enough to live on as first generation immigrants but we still put the holidays as the priority. We spent a lot of money on the food, the decorations, the Christmas tree, the gifts, and we had no regrets.  In elementary school years, the holidays consisted of waking up to a mountain tall  of gifts under the Christmas tree and then the feast with the relatives--which ranges from Vietnamese dishes to American food such as the Asian style baked turkey and the too salty mash potato.  Then the new year eves arrives and this means counting down to the last second of the year while watching the New Yorkers celebrate the New Year in Time Square.  Then there is the eggnog and the left over food that can be eaten for days afterward and they always leave a person full and joyful more than ever.

The holidays can get repetitive and tedious as the tradition repeats itself over the years. But we should focus on the relationship aspect of the time and know that whatever is going on in our lives, there is true joy out there and the holidays is a proof of that. If we take time to think about it, the holidays always bring back fond memories, whether it happened when we went on a first date with someone, or when we first got married, or when we first bring the young infant home from the hospital. Whatever happens in the past, the holidays should always be a reminder of the good old days and gives us the joy that life can take away from us.