The Top 5 Holidays

It’s officially the holiday season. Although it feels like the season begins earlier and earlier each year.

I was in a store and it was not even Halloween yet and there were entire sections of Christmas decorations already out. Wrapping papers, Christmas candles, wreaths – the store was in the full Christmas spirit. Not only were they leapfrogging Halloween, they were also skipping right over Thanksgiving as well.

While Christmas has begun to seemingly dominate about 3/4ths of the year, I thought I would rank my favorite holidays.

1.) Christmas:

Without a doubt Christmas is my favorite holiday. It has not only become a synchronized with snow, but it resembles the entire winter season. As I previously stated, preparing for Christmas has begun before most people even stock up on Halloween candy. Christmas also is two full days of celebrating, with Christmas Eve being almost as big of a holiday as Christmas itself. We celebrate the fact that it is not Christmas yet, but we are so close that we will just celebrate a day early because that is how awesome Christmas is. Christmas also has the strongest holiday mascot as Santa Claus is the face of the holiday season. Presents aside, it’s the warmth of being surrounded by family, hot chocolate by the fire and putting a tree inside of our houses that makes this day so special. At this rate I think the Christmas season may never end and we will be buying wreaths in January and turning our society into a replica of “Whoville”.

2.) Thanksgiving:

Turkey Day. The Macy’s Day Parade. Endless amounts of food. Football on the television all day long. It really is hard to beat Thanksgiving. The smell of preparing the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie and whatever else can fit on the table is all the company in the world until the dinner guests arrive. There are few more satisfying moments life has to offer than passing out on the couch will a stomach full of Thanksgiving dinner.

3.) New Year’s Eve:

I love NYE. The whole premise of the holiday celebration is to do just that – celebrate. This holiday is all about having fun, learning from mistakes made in the past year, remembering the positive memories the past year had to offer and looking forward to a new year. New Year’s resolutions rarely make it to the end of the year but the hope the holiday provides is worth raising a glass to.

4.) Fourth of July:

Coming in at number four is the Fourth of July. Celebrating our country’s independence exactly how our founding fathers dreamt we would – by watching people try to eat as many hot dogs as physically possible. Fourth of July cookouts are a spectacle. The grill is going, the sun is shining, and the rockets have their red flare as fireworks light the sky up at night. The Fourth of July does not have the ambiance of Christmas and Thanksgiving or the mindset of New Year’s Eve, but this star-spangled day is one of the best days of the year.

5.) Halloween:

As I have grown up, I have learned that Halloween drastically changes the older I become. Some of the best times I had as a kid was getting into my new costume and fighting my mom that I did not need to wear a coat. Going door to door and getting as much candy as my youthful eyes could possible comprehend was intoxicating at the time. However, as I got older, it became less acceptable to go door to door for candy. Suddenly in college, nobody seemed to be wearing a coat over their costume. In fact, people barely seemed to be wearing anything at all. While pumpkin patches and haunted hayrides still have their charm, and the Halloween season itself is a lot of fun, the holiday ages like milk. I will say, Halloween leftovers are right up there with Thanksgiving leftovers.