A Definitive Personal Ranking of the Holidays I Celebrate

Recently I have been, as the kids say, “feeling my oats” about both the Fall and Winter holidays, and so I have decided to start off this years Holidailies by sorting myself out. Using a carefully cultivated system known as “whatever my heart feels in this particular moment”, I am going to rank some of the holidays that my family celebrates from favorite to least favorite. (Disclaimer: I am a very festive person and as such I love all holidays on principle, so there are no holidays on this list that I dislike, just some that I like specifically more than others).

1. First and foremost, Christmas has all the goods. There is nothing else like Christmas for me; no other holiday as the same vibes as Christmas does. Christmas has an EXTENSIVE music selection that remind me of the simpler times of my childhood, as well as tons of amazing movies in all genres that are just so damn good. The food is good, the family is good, the decorations are SO good, and also gifts are fun. Also, the aesthetic of Christmas, with the lights and the snow (yay Winter!) and the coziness cannot be replicated. The magic of Christmas is not something to joke about. 
2. Coming in at a very close second is Halloween. Halloween also really has some good good Fall vibes that I just really appreciate. The idea of wearing costumes is fun for all ages, and Halloween parties are always the best because the theme is just “be something other than your normal clothes” which leaves a lot up to interpretation. Everyone likes a good theme. Also, there are a bunch of fun Halloween movies even if you’re not a horror fan (I am not a horror fan and I stand by this with conviction). Fall is just so dang cozy, and Halloween is nice because it can be enjoyed lots of different ways no matter your age. Whether you are the partier or the candy-distributor or the trick-or-treater, Halloween has something to offer everyone. Loses points because the only Halloween song is Monster Mash and it’s just not that good.
3. Thanksgiving goes third for me (are you sensing a theme? I like cold weather). I feel slightly like Thanksgiving is kind of Fall-Christmas because family members and food, and it also is the official start of Christmas for me. The food of Thanksgiving is its own individual thing that I look forward to every year. Also, I love good fall decorations and it really lets me embrace my table-setting skills every year. Loses points for no Thanksgiving music and also white-washed genocide celebration, but if you think about it purely on a “being-grateful” level and not on a “bad-representation-of-American-history-plus-turkeys” level, then it’s still pretty great.
4. New Year’s Eve/Day is nice because of new beginnings and wrapping up the year prior, plus it can be romantic if you’re kissing someone at midnight (or just hugging your dog). Again, great color scheme with the black, white and gold, and Love that it’s in Winter. Additionally, I like that it motivates people to be better, even if resolutions only last for like a month. Auld Lang Syne is great and helped boost NYE up a bunch.
5. Fifth place goes to Hanukah for me. I would like to point out that even though I probably like Hanukah and Easter equally, Hanukah is inherently better because it is in Winter and Easter is in Spring. Spring sucks and you may quote me on that. Anyway, I like the way my family celebrates Hanukah, where it’s not only 8 days of gifts. For some of the days, we do things like family board game night or we’re each given some money and we get to choose some charities to donate it to. There are only like two Hanukah songs, but they’re both bops so I am cool with it. All candle wax smells immediately like Hanukah to me, and I like menorahs. Also blue/silver is a great color scheme.
6. Easter’s main attribute is decorations/activities, a.k.a. eggs. It is great to do Easter egg hunts, dye eggs, and subsequently make colorful egg salad with the eggs. Also bunnies are fun so they’re nice to put everywhere. I do appreciate a good pastel color palette as well, so points for that. Again, losing points for no Easter songs, and also for aforementioned aversion to Spring as a concept, but I have had a lot of awesome floral Easter dresses over the years that make up for it. 

Honorable mentions: Valentine’s Day (I like chocolate but not loneliness), Fourth of July (even thought it has a dumb name because I like the color scheme and the barbecue food), and Rosh Hashanah (yay apples and honey).

Hope you enjoyed this ranking based on cold hard facts backed up with MLA-cited sources and research. Happy December!

Holly