Step back in time with me, if you will, to the Saturday before Christmas last year. As a childless 33-year-old woman (a.k.a. J.D. Vance’s sworn enemy) at the time, I had no festive, family-oriented events to attend—but I did have an invite to a house party/bar crawl. So rather than spend the last weekend evening before the 25th all by myself, I slipped on an itchy ugly sweater from Amazon and showed up to the party with my best, most cheerful foot forward. Call it dating-app fatigue or just the result of years of romantic holiday storylines being shoved down my throat, but as a single person, I also had a slight hope I might meet somebody too.
That night, sadly, I didn’t stumble upon a small-town bakery shop owner ready to show me the true meaning of Christmas. I did, however, consume so much late-night Taco Bell and tequila that I barfed on my bathroom floor and became about $200 poorer from overpriced Ubers and cocktails. On top of the atrocious multiday hangover I experienced from this single, absolutely mid merry evening, I also developed a sore throat that really hit the day I landed in Minneapolis to spend Christmas with my entire extended family—something I’m 99% certain I caught at said party.
This sad, awkward story isn’t meant to draw pity. (You’re allowed to think I’m pathetic, I can take it.) Rather, it’s an illustration of permission. No matter how lonely you feel in December—which, TBH, is a lot of us—you don’t have to show up to holiday gatherings or even celebrate the season just because some Hallmark movie said you should. If you need another excuse beyond that, here are three more.
1. ’Tis the season for sickness.
December through January is primetime for COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, per the CDC. And even if you’ve had the virus before and your symptoms were mild, it’s still really, really worth avoiding getting it again for a couple of obvious reasons—one, you don’t want to feel terrible while simultaneously wrestling with end-of-year stress. And it’s also not the greatest idea to potentially infect your entire family if you’re meeting up with them at some point, as my story showcases. Most critically, however, as SELF has previously reported, SARS-CoV-2 is a lot more nefarious than a cold or the flu. (Although those have some nasty symptoms and spread like wildfire this time of year too). While a cold or flu virus usually only affects your respiratory tract, COVID binds to things called ACE2 receptors that can be found all over, from your gut to your brain. Even in a mild case, COVID can also throw your body into chaos.
Infections tend to spread quickly in closed-off spaces with little airflow—just like your friend’s tiny studio apartment or that new holiday pop-up bar with standing space only. Importantly, however, this doesn’t necessarily mean you *have* to skip your bestie’s annual holiday bash. (Anyone up for a beverage on the open-air patio?) But if it’s your coworker’s friend’s party, or a frenemy’s you really need to cut off already, well….
2. The world is crumbling, and you don’t need some rando to minimize your emotions about it.
If you’ve been in a semi-blackout state of disbelief since November 5th like I have, here’s a quick reminder that some people’s Christmas lights and trees might still be up by the time Donald J. Trump is inaugurated on January 20th. And if you’re like a ton of other Americans, you might still have some unprocessed grief associated with the results (which is 100% entirely valid). Of course, when you haven’t quite figured out how you really *feel* about the future, you might be a little uncomfortable around a group of folks who might not share your viewpoints or who minimize your mourning.
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