Once upon a time holidays symbolized a time to connect and carry on traditions with your loved ones however now they represent presents, deals, and partying.

December is the month of “giving not receiving” but how many really believe this. To many children the holidays represent days filled with presents and goodies but how many could offer an explanation as to why they’re receiving the gift. In fact many children expect gifts upon gifts for no apparent reason other than behaving “good” for the last two weeks.

For example take Valentine’s Day, a day dedicated to expressing your feelings to the people around you. Once a day to appreciate people in your life has now become a day full of pressure to live up to romantic gestures through expensive dinners, fancy chocolates, and lavish gifts, as if the materials make up for the sentiment.

Similarly New Year’s is advertised as a time for new beginnings and a chance to start fresh with resolutions to better ourselves in some way however how often do we live up to those promises. Even though we have the opportunity to better ourselves everyday, this holiday is still dedicated to doing the very thing that probably won’t occur.

Thanksgiving, a time to appreciate the people in your life is now surrounded by the Black Friday rush and football game of the day. Instead of truly reflecting on the the things we are thankful for and enjoying the company of our loved ones, we huddle up against strangers for warmth in the mile long line next to the local Target.

Holidays like St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco De Mayo are advertised by the media as a time to party and let loose even though they don’t accurately represent the meaning of the holiday at all. The most common insight of St. Patricks day is to wear green and not the cultural or religious significance. Yet we still blindly celebrate it.

The sentimental value of holidays have been replaced with materialistic items to represent our sentiment. Over the years we have overlooked the sentimental values behind each holiday and have become more expectant of the materials that mean so little.