Christmas is the pinnacle of happiness for many, yet others experience a blue Christmas.
For some it’s because they don’t have a picturesque family to share the holidays with. Others may have had a year of relationship, financial or health challenges. Sometimes the loss of a loved one that we associated the holidays with always makes it a bittersweet celebration no matter how long ago the loss was experienced. Sometimes our expectations are for holiday perfection instead chaotic reality. And there’s a myriad of other reasons Christmas can evoke the blues.
No one aspires to experience a blue Christmas, but it is a more common experience than you may think it is — even if you’re happy most of the time. After all there’s extra pressure to be jolly this time of year even if you don’t feel it. As not-so-secretly happy people we may forget that others may need compassion and kindness during the holidays instead of us trying to convince them to join in our cheer.
If you’re experiencing a blue Christmas try to honor it instead of ignore it. This doesn’t mean raining on the parades of those who are holiday happy. Instead it means re-charging your spirit on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
- If you need to cry, then cry.
- If you need to forfeit the jolly then do and just be polite.
- Rent your favorite non-holiday movies and create your own movie marathon.
- If you must go to a holiday dinner with friends or loved ones, forgo the normal red or green attire and instead privately express your inner blue by wearing your favorite blue outfit.
- If you’re alone and don’t want to be, think about going to visit folks at a local nursing home that may not have family to come see them.
- Plan on going to see one or more of the new movies Christmas day–and you’ll have perfect after holiday discussion fodder.
- Call someone you think might be alone on the holiday.
- Read a new book.
- Take a bubble bath.
Whatever you do, be kind to yourself instead of beating yourself up for not feeling the holiday spirit to the fullest.
Fortunately, a blue Christmas may strike one year, and then not show up again for years to come. It’s a little like catching the flu or a cold, not always preventable, but always treatable with compassion, kindness and self-love.
Once you find yourself on the mend you may want to count your happy moments. Check out the Secret Society of Happy People’s Thirty-One Types of Happiness to see if it increases your happy awareness — and you might want to read our Secret Society of Happy People’s Thirty-One Types of Happiness Guide (available in print and e-readers).
Written by Pamela Gail
Pamela Gail Johnson founded the Society of Happy People in 1998.
The Society is grounded on Pamela’s four key Practical Happiness Principles:
Pamela identified 31 Types of Happiness that are on the SOHP App Happiness Counter to make it easier to recognize moments of happiness.
Pamela also plans and organizes the Society of Happy People's annual happiness celebrations:
She's also a speaker, trainer, and author.
A few of her personal smile starters include her monthly book club, yoga, traveling and meeting new happy people.