But here is the secret: that hangover is necessary. Because in the quiet of January, when the lights come down and the regular world resumes its grey grind, you realize something has changed. Not the world. You.
The festive season is a trick we play on time. For a few brief weeks, we pretend that generosity is the default, that family is always functional, and that tomorrow will be better than yesterday. It is a lie, of course. A beautiful, necessary, life-affirming lie. festive season
Psychologists call it temporal disorientation —a deliberate break from routine that resets our mental clocks. When you string lights across your living room in the middle of December, you are not just decorating. You are building a fortress against the monotony of ordinary time. Of course, no honest feature on the festive season can ignore the shadow side. For every table groaning with roast turkey or latkes, there is an empty chair. For every perfectly curated Instagram reel of matching pyjamas, there is a family argument brewing in the kitchen over politics or parking spots. But here is the secret: that hangover is necessary
