Why Do Christmas & Thanksgiving Family Gatherings Resemble WWE Fights
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Are you ready to rumble?
With Easter nearly past us, I thought back to an issue known to us all at holiday time. Someone has either experienced or knows someone who has experienced a family holiday get together that resembles a WWE bout.
One movie that sums up many of the Christmas family gatherings that I have experienced: is the Four Holidays.
Why do families put themselves through such excruciating pain when it is supposed to be a time for peace and happiness?
As Emily Cope identified in her article, How to avoid the 11 Christmas arguments that every family has, Emily stated that Christmas could be one of the happiest times of the year. Still, it can also be a minefield of family arguments, relationship tensions and stress.
According to conflict expert Jane Gunn, it’s normal for arguments to occur at Christmas because we’re expected to spend extended amounts of time together, which means a lot of contrasting personalities, high tensions and shorter fuses. (Cope, 2021)
I know most will resonate with what Gunn identified, and I have thrown a few of my own experiences into Gunn’s mix over the years.
- Whose family to see on Christmas Day
- Who's going to host Christmas Day
- Family tensions
- Your partner’s family
- People being ungrateful
- Feeling under-appreciated
- Cheats during game time
- Someone getting too drunk
- New partners not fitting in
I often get asked by people why I prefer to be alone during holiday times, and when you look back over the movie Four Holidays, you can see why I enjoy the day alone and let others near to me experience some of the above.
Who is with me on this? What do you do to avoid conflict?
