would you really never celebrate it ever again??? Obviously that year is out, and the next year I would probably go on vacation somewhere. The second year would stay in town, and maybe do a very mild celebration. But by year three I would probably be all the way back in. Though I would probably be done with the Santa bit.
shareI guess you might if you had other people "pushing" you to celebrate it. Some therapists would suggest it's a good thing too. Would be weird though.
shareI had a very wonderful member of my family die during the early morning hours of Thanksgiving last year
Nobody in my circle will ever forget her but life is for the living
We will gather together this holiday and give thanks that we knew and loved her...and we will never forget how sweet, funny and generous she was
I will host the festivities and ill be sure to give my guests and family joy as she gave all of us in her days
There are places in the world where Santa has a different name
shareMy uncle died a few days before Christmas. It was super rough the first year, but we still got together. It felt better to be together missing him, than being at home, alone. It's been a couple of years now and we miss him terribly, but we still try to keep things normal for the kids.
shareMy Great-Grandmother did die on Christmas Day. While that was not a good year, my grandparents made it a point to ensure the kids always had a great Christmas afterwards, sometimes going way overboard.
shareIf your parent went missing on Christmas Eve and then their, Santa attired, half-charred remains were found stuffed up the chimney after several days of worry and heartache, you'd have a good case for packing it in thereafter.
shareWhen I posed the original question I kind of had the story in the movie in mind. I still think after a couple of years away I would miss Christmas and gradually start celebrating it again. Although I would never do anything involving Santa. I don't think I would be like the girl in the movie and blame Christmas as a whole for my father dying, while doing something really stupid.
shareShe doesn't blame Christmas for her father dying. She's just traumatised by what happened to her dad at Christmas.
shareGrief affects different people in different ways.
If somebody you cared deeply about died on Christmas, you'd be reminded of them every Christmas. I can understand why some would want to move on from the grief, and would certainly not judge them for celebrating Christmas. But can also see why others would find it difficult to do.
I think it's depends how closely you associate the trauma with the holiday. Someone dying of cancer on Christmas Day wouldn't have the same triggers as someone pretending to be Santa Claus, and climbing down a Chimney. I think her point of view is understandable, since she would always associate Santa Claus with the death of her father. I think she would probably come around eventually, especially once she had kids of her own, but I agree that she probably wouldn't teach her kids about Santa.
share