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Thursday, December 2, 2021

Alternative Holiday Traditions You Should Adopt!

This post is provided by Emily Roberts.

Christmas and Thanksgiving are great, arguably, but they are just so …everywhere. By the time the day actually comes you are sick of the songs, the food, the Santa and turkey graphics everywhere. Sometimes it is simply too much. Sometimes you are looking for something new.  

At the core of it, Christmas is about appreciating your immediate family, Thanksgiving your extended family, New Years gives hope for the future and birthdays are all about you. But what about the rest? There are a lot of gaps in the system that need filled, and nowadays there is a holiday for each of them. There is a day for that, and a day for that. Read our blog to find out all the details of each of them. 

Galentine’s Day

Spearheaded by Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation fame, Galentine’s Day is a chance for women, single and otherwise, to show their appreciation for their closest gals. Leave the men behind as you go out for a celebration of your best gal pals. 

Like a hen party with a heaping dose of sincerity, Galentine’s Day features mainly brunch, with the bottomless element included, and thoughtful gift bags exchanged, with perhaps a dance party thrown in. Leslie specializes in the handmade gift variety, but it is not mandatory. 

Since the closing of the show, the concept has grown in popularity, to the point that you will occasionally hear of gals hitting the town on the 13th of February for their Galentine’s brunch or hosting pink-themed Galentine’s house parties with a framed photo of Leslie Knope on the wall like Jesus. 

Exclaimer, you do not have to be born a gal to be part of Galentine’s Day. If you are one of the gals, and appreciated by the gals, you are invited. 

Friendsgiving

Friendsgiving is made for those who created their family, rather than inherited it. Again, with a touchstone in popular culture (some say it was started by too many re-runs of Friends and their annual Thanksgiving episodes featuring no blood relatives), Friendsgiving has grown into an annual meal of appreciation for the family you made along the way. 

Popular in university student’s struggling to get back home, especially seeing a rise since the recent lockdowns. The global appeal is there too, with the lack of historical aspect meaning that friends around the world are gathering for celebration of their friends. 

If you are looking to be a part of Friendsgiving, you can send out Friendsgiving invitations and have everyone round for a meal far grander than the bland turkey offered every year: pizza. Usually hosted the weekend before Thanksgiving, friends host a potluck dinner made up of all the favorites of your group. Sure, it can include turkey, yams and all the old favorites, but if you have to do it again the next week with your family, it can get tiring really quick. 

According to Google, there has been a steady rise in searches for Friendsgiving, spiking every Fall, since 2012 and Instagram is flooded with #friendsgiving photos every year. 

Samhain

Chances are you already celebrate Samhain in some capacity. Samhain is the historical basis for Halloween, which in itself takes so many forms it is hard to choose one way of celebrating. 

However, Samhain runs from the evening of October 31st to the following evening on November 1st, so you have time to squeeze in some traditional Celtic rituals if you are interested.

The original point of Samhain is to give thanks for the bountiful summer you have had and pray for just as lucrative a winter. If you were Wiccan in the Middle Ages it is more likely you were asking for frost to not kill your crops, but today Wiccans ask for everything from true love to a job promotion via their various spiritual ways, much like how Christians would pray today. 

Plus, it is seen as a chance to speak to loved ones again, since the Celts believed that the physical world barriers between the spirit world and our world are broken down with the start of the season, allowing interactions between us humans and the Otherworld. Less a chance to star in your own version of The Conjuring and more in the spirit of Day of the Dead where you get to speak to your gran again. 

Pet’s Birthdays

There is nothing like the love of a pet. It is unconditional and pure, and yet we do not have a day to celebrate it. 

Sure, there is National Love Your Pet Day on February 20th, where you can share pictures of your furry, scaly, or aquatic friend on social media, but if you really want to show your love you can host a birthday party for them. 

Birthdays can be a little elusive. If you have a rescue dog, for example, that information might not have been readily available, so a good backup is the date you introduced them to your home. 

The fun of it is of course, the décor, the superior meal complete with treats, a fun day out, and perhaps a doggy birthday cake. But National Love Your Pet Day has a good list of pointers that will also help in your pet’s overall wellbeing, meaning that you will have a regular check-in that you will remember. 

These include checking if your pet’s vaccines are up to date, a grooming session, some extra training, and washing their bedding.  

Adoption Party

An adoption party can be along the same lines as a birthday party, but it focuses on the day your family grew and became whole. Not to be confused with adoption parties where the purpose is to connect potential parents with children, this form of adoption party is a private celebration of the family you have made. 

It can hit all the same milestones as a birthday party - gifts, cake, theme, and activities – but shared amongst the family. That means the little ones will have to go shopping for daddy, yes. 

You can do a family friendly activity together, like riding a bike trail, or stay in the house and have a movie day with popcorn and blankets. Like birthday’s, there are very little rules to stick to. The only rule is that you do it together.